The Untold Story
by Aksarben
Summary: The rise and fall of Lily and James Potter. AND I do not own any rights to Harry Potter.
1. One: Meeting Again

_October 31, 1981_

"_James!" Lily screamed, her voice shaking, "James! My wand's gone!"_

_It had only been seconds after they noticed the NAME charm had been interrupted. Her screams jarred James from his spot in the living room. He ran into the kitchen, his eyes meeting hers. She was sickly pale; her eyes were wide as she stood deathly still in front of the kitchen side drawer. Freezing in shock himself, he gasped, "What?"_

_She shook her head miserably and glanced out the kitchen window again, searching the darkness of their backyard for any movement. _

"_Accio!" James called for it and nothing came. _

_Denial and panic together over took James's entire body with a cold chill. He ran to the drawer and looked inside. Her wand was not in its place. He moved her muggle cooking books over to the side, no wand. His hands were trembling disobediently. He shoved the books to the other side of the drawer; still no wand. Furious and desperate, James grabbed the handle and pulled it as hard as he could; freeing the wooden drawer from its hinges. All the contents fell to the floor with a loud clatter, a small, blue button rolled under a cabinet. No wand. _

"_Peter." The name seeped from his mouth with disgust. _

_She ignored him. Peter couldn't have—"James," she gasped, "What do we do?"_

_In shock he looked to her again, he knew she saw the fear written all over his face. She couldn't fight alongside him as they had planned. He made the decision. _

"_Go." _

_Her breathing came out in pants as he grabbed her arm and led her towards the back of the kitchen. "What?"_

_A small click from the front door grabbed their attention. The house fell silent. Lily felt every one of her senses intensify; James felt the hair on his neck stand on end. Their large front door was opened wide and hit the wall behind it with a deep thud. Someone had entered the house: Lord Voldemort. _

"_It's him." James opened the side door that hid their back staircase, shoved Lily towards it, and ordered under his breath, "Go!"_

_Being pushed through the doorway towards the steps, she hissed, "We were supposed to fight together!"_

"_Just take Harry and go! I'll hold him off." James pressed her resisting body up one of the first steps and recoiled. In an instant, he had shut the door between them and magically locked it. Then, summoning all the courage he had, he yelled though the door, "Go!" _

_This sent her into a panic. She fell to the door and tried to open it, her furious attempts knocked vociferously in the next room. Pulling at the knob once and then two more times made her realize how helpless she truly was without her wand. _

_She shouted, "James! We were supposed to fight together!" He did not answer. She knew James couldn't win by himself. They had formed strategies, back up plans, escape routes all based on their paired training. Alone he couldn't—No, she wouldn't think of it. Lily slammed a fist into the wood of the door, her throat tight and hoarse, "JAMES!"_

July 18, 1978

"James! Your mother would have you hung by your toes if she knew!"

"Alright, fine!" The young man with jet black hair sighed, got up from the table, and walked towards the kitchen. "If I don't come back in ten minutes, send the brigade."

Sirius smirked, "Ten minutes? There'll be nothing left, mate."

Lily Evans brushed her auburn hair over a shoulder as she continued to run scalding water over used dishes. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Marlene McKinnon were sitting in the dining room discussing recent happenings at the Ministry when James was instructed to assist in the kitchen. Cautiously, he poked his head into the kitchen and saw Lily bending over a sink that held a good amount of cutlery to be cleaned. He couldn't help but let his eyes dive lower, still flabbergasted since her arrival.

She heard his footsteps crossing the tile on the kitchen entry way and glared hard at a particular spoon resting beneath the surface of bubbles.

"Do you need any help in here?" James asked simply, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

"Not really," Lily replied adding soap into the sink, "I reckon I can manage this."

"Remus told me to be a gentleman and help you get done faster so we could have tea." James said, wincing at his childlike tone.

"Remus said that?" She seemed to be adding more and more pressure to her sponge upon the crusted surface of a casserole dish.

"Mm-hum," he said softly leaning up against the counter next to her, giving up on his attempt at a civil conversation. It was obvious that Lily had been avoiding him for the past few days since her surprising onset. James was at a loss for new approaches towards her. He decided to accept her stubborn attitude and deal with it the only way he knew how: mockery.

She put down her dish and sponge, wiping her hands clean on a rag, "Well, you may tell Remus that I am perfectly capable of doing the dishes single-handedly."

Turning to leave, he coughed, smirking, "I thought you'd say that."

Appalled by his reaction of complete sarcasm, a reaction he was famous for, her boiling point hit its peak. She squared her shoulders to him, her hands in loose fists at her sides. "James," she hissed, "why do you always have to act like that?"

He asked while his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed in her direction. "Like what?"

She turned her gaze to the soapy water and lowered her voice, "Like a child."

"A child," James repeated, "I suppose I act like a child because you insist on treating me like one, even though I have proven my maturity to you time and time again."

She rested her hands on the rims of the sink and sighed again, "I can't do this anymore."

He sighed too, and faced the wall behind her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"James," she pleaded, "couldn't we just act civil for one occasion?"

"Lily, I'm sorry. I just think it's a little awkward." He ran his hand through his hair. This conversation had gone completely awry and for his life he could not conceive a way to fix it. "I guess I'm not used to being alone with you."

"You're not used to being alone with me? We dated for over a year!"

"I didn't mean that." He paused looking towards the floor. "I just meant, that I'm not used to being alone with you since you left."

She grabbed a towel from the counter top and wiped down the edges of the sink, letting the bubbles disappear in the water. "It's been three months since we broke it off." She turned and faced the same wall he was, saying, "I thought that would have been enough time."

He knew her question was absurd. She was right to assume that he had tried to date again. She, however, did not know that every date James had been on since had all ended horribly. On one night, James had even cursed a bleeding gash on his leg to get out of a bike ride with one of Frank Longbottom's distant cousins. "It's just, being around the old crowd." He paused. "It seems totally strange to be by myself again. It's completely normal for Peter, but not for me." They both laughed.

"This is really awkward, isn't it?" she added slightly smiling.

"Yeah," he said letting his arms drop to his sides resulting in his right hand being dangerously close to her hip. He flinched. "Well," James said quickly turning around towards the sink, "let's get these dishes done before Remus questions my upbringing again."

After a few moments all the dishes were done, Lily and James returned to the dining room, sitting across from one another. The arguments had only continued during their absences.

"—there is no way that the Minister of Magic could have let the guards down at the North entrance without alerting the others." Sirius was in a heated argument with Marlene again.

"Of course I know that, but—"

"But nothing." Sirius had abandoned his dessert on the table, completely out of character. "The Minister is up to something. Everyone knows it."

"Sirius," Remus joined in, "The Minister has certain protocols that out-rank even him."

Confused, Lily whispered to James, "What are they talking about?"

Sirius, Remus, and Marlene continued their discussion, raising the volume of the room even more. James lowered his voice across the large oak table, "There was another break in at the Ministry's vaults." Lily's eyes widened. "Apparently, there were a number of documents stolen that had personal information for everyone who worked in the Muggle Department. You know, addresses, family members…"

Lily's breathing hitched thinking of all those she knew personally in the Muggle Department at the Ministry. "Death Eaters?" she asked already knowing the answer.

James nodded gravely.

Marlene let out a strangled cry of frustration. "I just don't understand how he could be that stupid!"

"Well, believe it Mar," said Sirius looking up from the table, "The Minister himself has no inclination to what is going on right underneath him. The public is no longer safe." The entire room went deathly quiet. James noticed Lily's stare was directed at her folded hands at her lap.

"So," Marlene said softly, clearing her throat, "What's next? Where do we go from here?"

James answered without hesitating, "Wait for Dumbledore."

"But Dumbledore's methods-"

"Dumbledore's methods are a hell of a lot better than individuals getting themselves killed trying to be heroes." Lily looked up at James and then to Sirius, Remus, and Marlene. They were at the top of the Order; however, without Dumbledore, not one of them felt authority to plan strikes. "Our best strategy, right now, is to wait and keep our eyes and ears open."

A few hours later Remus left, with Peter following minutes after. Sirius and Marlene stayed for another cup of tea and left together still engrossed at the Ministry's foolishness. James, as usual, kept his focus on the roaring fire in the living room as he sprawled out on the couch. Even during their final years at Hogwarts, Lily noticed how James took a liking to the fire places.

"You still can't pull yourself away," Lily said leaning on the door frame folding her arms, peering in on the young man.

"I see it still bothers you, Evans," he replied back with a smirk creeping along his lips.

She walked into the room and sat on the floor in between the fire and the sofa, "Well, I need to get to sleep sometime tonight."

"You didn't seem to care about sleep when we were dating." He chuckled as did she. "I remember when you were trying to study in a similar spot and I would keep-"

"-keep kicking my shoulder." Lily interrupted him while applying a slap to his outstretched leg in front of her.

"Ouch! I was not kicking you, they were gentle nudges." James used the toe of his shoe to nudge at Lily's arm making her whole body go askew.

"Well, we're not dating now," said Lily. The fire continued to crackle and set amazing shadows along her profile and flowing across James's body and onto the wall.

"Speaking of that," James said, attempting to sound causal, "Who do you have your eye on now?" He immediately regretted hi statement seeing her nonverbal reaction.

She blinked and got back up to her feet to leave.

"Hey, come on Lils," he whispered getting up from the couch to follow her, "I didn't mean that."

She stopped walking and turned to face him, "That is the problem James. You never mean to say or do anything. You need to learn that the things you say can upset people. You just don't think about others do you?"

James was stunned. "Where the bloody hell is this coming from?"

A few seconds passed by with the two still standing in silence.

"Lily," James said slowly, "I'm sorry." She didn't move. "Look, I was just trying to catch up with you. You know, make small talk. I wasn't trying to offend you."

She sighed heavily again, "I know, James." She turned back around, the fireplace lighting her face up, "I've just been really stressed lately, and this whole 'let's get the gang back together' thing is throwing me off."

"The 'let's get the gang back together' thing?" He asked. "Did you never want to see us again?"

"No!" She said urgently, "I just wasn't ready to see you again." His face softened. "It's just, being back here—you know, the last time I was here was when we broke up." She was staring hard into his eyes and said, "We were right here, James. We were standing just like this."

He remained quiet. He never really knew how to converse with women well.

"Jay," she whispered, "This is too much." She shifted her weight. "A part of me wants to just go back to where we left off. It would be so easy. James, I would go back to sleeping here every night, waking up to Sirius at the front door, and pretending this war wasn't going on." He wanted to take a step closer to her but didn't dare.

"I want you back here." James said quietly. "It's not the same with you gone. I know you wanted to distance yourself from us, but it doesn't seem fair to anyone."

"James, I am a target. I'm a muggleborn. I put you all at risk. You know that!"

"I know what you are!" He walked straight up to her. "Lily, you are a part of us. You're one of us. We want you here so we can protect you." He shook his head, squeezed his eyes shut briefly, and opened them, "So I can protect you." He was looking directly into her green eyes, turned a strange dark color by the firelight. "Lils, you are so strong and so smart. I know that and you know that. You just need to understand that Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I love you and can't let you leave us again." He listened to her half hazard breathing for a while waiting for her to calm down.

"It's just like back at Hogwarts," she cried, "Avery and McNair talking about mixed-blood relationships and how-"

"Stop it! Lils, we've gone over this. You're safe here; with me—with Sirius, Marlene, everyone." James was getting frustrated and out of breath. He closed the gap between them and put his arms on her waist. "I couldn't stand knowing you were in London, somewhere, unprotected. Muggles are constantly disappearing. I worried about you every day."

The night was running late and James could tell she was getting tired. Her eyes no longer held the furious rage they did earlier, they had softened. Her posture was falling more and more into his chest. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, "Before I left, Death Eaters had killed Mark Flemmings in the alleyway behind the Three Broomsticks. All he had done was pursue a muggle woman . . . It's just, not fair."


	2. Two: Clues

James went sprinting down the long entryway sliding to a halt at his front foyer. It was pitch black outside and only a few ornate sconces were lit in the long corridor. Someone was knocking franticly on the other side of the door.

"Prongs, we have to go, now!"

James peered around a faux plant to look through a side window, and sure enough Sirius was out on his porch fully dressed at four in the morning yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Padfoot," he hissed flinging open the large wooden door, "what's going on?"

James knew something was terribly wrong by the look on his best mate's face. "There's been another attack!" Thinking of Lily in a bedroom down the hall, James closed the door behind himself slowly crossing his arms over his chest. Trying to sound calm he choked out, "Where?"

"Outside London. Three muggles and two muggleborns." They both stood there on the Potters' porch under the many stars and deep blue sky. How could such a beautiful night be so horrible just miles away?

"And?" James asked looking to the ground.

"And?" Sirius repeated; his mouth agape. "Moody wants us to investigate. Right now."

"I can't."

"You can't?"

"Lily's here."

"Lily's – James we have a job to do!" Sirius threw his arm towards the road to the city. " There are five people dead!"

"I know that." James dropped his arms to his side. "What am I supposed to tell her? Look Lils, I know what I said last night about you being safe, but I have to leave you now and investigate muggle killings? Moody has dozens of others to investigate tonight."

Sirius was astonished, "I don't care what you tell her. Prongs we have to go. There's a chance for us to connect this to the Ministry break in." James remained still, staring at the brick details on the porch. "James, there could be more if we don't find who's doing this."

The night was cut in half by a chill breeze. James had a responsibility;, not just to Moody and The Order, but to Lily as well. That night had led to James finally getting her back into his life. He wasn't quite sure how long she would stay this go around.

"Fine," James said leading Sirius back into the house, "But Lily's coming with us."

James slowly opened her door. She was lying in her usual position, curled up into a ball on the far side of the four poster bed. He crept over to her, amazed that she did not hear him.

"Hey, Lils," he whispered leaning down to her ear allowing his nose to brush her cheek.

"I heard Sirius at the door." She was wide awake.

James chuckled, "How did you know it was Sirius?"

With her eyes still closed she smiled, "He is the only friends of yours that comes here at all hours of the night." Her beautiful green eyes opened. "And he is either drunk, mad about a date, or is here on Moody's orders. Plus, he might as well of been shouting at the Cannons during the finals."

James let out a small laugh, "You're very observant."

"What did he want?"

He brushed a few strands of hair from her brow and knelt down onto floor, "I have to go."

Her voice was calm and seemed untouched. "Where?"

"Surrey."

She rolled onto her back. James saw her necklace catch the moon's rays and almost glow in the darkness. "I'm coming with you."

He stood up to leave, "Just like old times, right?"

"Yeah," Lily said while swinging her legs over the bedside, "Except this time Sirius actually knocked instead of apparating straight into your bedroom."

"Hey, he hasn't done that since." He smiled standing up and grabbing her coat lying on the nearby chair. "I think that one time was enough to scar him for life."

"Black, Potter, and Miss Evans," Mad Eyed Moody put his large hand on Lily's shoulder, "Didn't think I would be seeing you for a while." James watched as Lily returned a radiant smile despite her few hours of sleep.

Moody turned to the boys taking a limped step towards the house, "Well, Potter, Black took you two long enough."

"We had a tag-along sir," Sirius mentioned while walking up to greet the other members of The Order that had arrived.

Moody let out a short bark of laughter and then snapped back into his normal temperament. "Potter, did Black fill you in on the details?"

James looked quickly at Lily, "No sir, not yet."

"Well, then," Moody began to walk into the house they had arrived at, "The residence was attacked sometime between one and two hours ago." Lily noticed a child's toy bus lying in dirt under a rose bush. "There were two killed here in the parlor and the others upstairs." James turned into the parlor after walking inside and stopped dead in his tracks. Moody was right, there were two bodies lying on the floor. Both men in their thirties appeared unharmed, clear evidence of the Killing Curse, with their eyes open and fixed on invisible points.

"Come on then, we still need to get upstairs."

James and Lily followed behind Moody up the narrow staircase noticing plenty of muggle portraits on the walls of different people and some including the individuals from below.

"Hiya, Lily," a voice chirped from the top of the stairs, "You're looking great. I haven't seen you in a while."

Alice Longbottom came bounding down the stairs, squeezing past Moody and James to embrace Lily, a strange reaction to the scene at hand.

"Alice," Lily sighed, "You still can liven a place up." The two girls laughed.

"Evans," Moody called from a nearby room.

"I see you're getting the tour still, so I will talk with you later." Alice kissed Lily on the cheek and continued downstairs.

"Bye, Alice. Tell Frank I said hello."

"You can tell him yourself, he's upstairs."

Lily climbed the remaining set of steps and turned into the second room on the left side of the hallway where she could hear Moody's voice.

"Potter, you might need to drag her in-"

"I'm right here," she said sliding through the doorway. The room she entered looked relatively normal. The large bed was made and only a few socks littered the floor. The socks were too small for an adult.

"Lily Evans," Frank said in shock, "James what did you do, twist her arm?"

James and Frank were standing on the far side of the room next to a large armoire and an open closet. Frank was smiling in her direction while James's face looked grave and pleaded to Lily's eyes, telling her to stay where she was.

"Evans, are we going to get this done tonight?" Mad Eye was leaning his head out of the closet with his magical eye still fixed inside the wardrobe.

She took a hidden deep breath and prepared herself as she did with every investigation. This one chilled her to the bone. She held in a gasp , her breath caught in her throat, and her mouth went dry instantly. A middle-aged woman and two children were dead inside.

"Oh, God."

"We can't say who died first but I would guess the woman by her position."

"Trying to protect the kids. Damn impressive way to die, in my opinion," Frank said leaving the room.

"They obviously had time to hide, a surprise though no doubt." Moody was scanning the inside of the closet for something.

"The woman's name was Annemarie Knight. Name sound familiar to either of you?"

Lily shook her head. James narrowed his eyes, "The head of Muggle Engineering at the Ministry?"

"Exactly, Potter," Moody said gently rolling the woman's corpse onto its side.

"Which would make her the third Ministry official to die this month?" James walked over to the closet and peered inside. "This isn't even her address is it? She wouldn't live this far from the Ministry."

"This is her brother's home."

"Her children?" Lily asked.

"No. Her brother's," Moody finally exited the small confines of the closet and sat down on the bed. "According to the Ministry, her brother's oldest child, Mark, was to be enrolled at Hogwarts in five years."

Lily saw the young boy's body in a dark corner of the closet, his body underneath some rather long coats.

"They didn't stand a chance." Her voice was distant and led James to wonder why he insisted on her coming with.

"This looks like an amateur raid," James pointed out, "Experienced Death Eaters wouldn't have even allowed time to hide." Moody nodded. "There couldn't have been very many of them either. Three at the most."

"She was hiding here, I'm sure," Lily looked away from the bodies and back to Moody, "She wanted to get out of London and out of the way, but they got her brother's information and figured she would be here."

"They were right," James whispered.

"Great, Potter," Moody said getting up off the bed, "Just go and tell all of your past girlfriends The Order's information."

"Alastor," Lily argued, "I am still a member whether you like it or not."

"Easy, Evans," he said walking past her and out of the room, "I always hoped you would come back." He stopped and turned back to her from the hallway. "Plus, Potter is a little dense without you next to him." He winked and went downstairs leaving Lily and James with the three bodies.

"What was he looking for?" Lily asked. "He was searching everywhere."

"Annemarie's wand is missing."

"It was Avery wasn't it?"

"It is his classic style."

"Shit." Lily sighed, backing away from the wardrobe, "I can't talk to Severus right now." She sat down onto the bed. Stranger than having three dead bodies in the same room, Lily had the sudden urge to sleep. The bed hadn't been slept in and the welcoming cushion under her was overwhelming. She took another deep breath and rubbed her face with both hands.

"Would he tell you the truth?" asked James.

Muffled by her hands cupped over her mouth, she wondered, "I'm not sure anymore."


	3. Three: Reconnecting

After a few hours, the Order dispersed leaving Moody and a few others to secure his crime scene. "So, Prongs," Sirius said slowly, "Back to your place?"

"I don't think I will get much sleep today," said Marlene walking down from the porch of the muggle's home.

James laughed quietly looking around at the quiet suburb, "I guess the sun is already coming up. We could probably all use some breakfast."

Half of the Order went to the Potter Mansion and, after eating, they retired to a large sitting room where the sun bathed them all in light yellow rays and warmth. Alice and Frank went to their usual spot next to a great bookshelf and large window, sprawling out on a large ottoman. The Prewitt brothers sat on the largest sofa with their feet resting on a coffee table. Sirius and Marlene sat dangerously close together on a plush love seat and Lily and James grabbed a spot on the polished wood floor.

"Well, that was an interesting night, wasn't it?"

"Can you believe that Death Eaters are that bold?" Marlene replied. She was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees staring at Gideon Prewitt, "They killed two children. What's next?"

"It could be you McKinnon," Gideon said forcing all eyes upon his lanky frame, "It could be any of us."

"Come on Gid," said James stretching out his legs, "Don't be so dramatic."

"Dramatic, James?"

"Yeah," Sirius butted in, "We all need to take things one step at a time."

The room was tense, but not too tense after a few seconds passed. Fabian Prewitt took a step in the right direction. "So," he said, slowly taking a drink of water, "Lily, James, when did you kids get back together?"

Suddenly Frank and Alice looked up, Marlene smiled, Gideon sat up, and Sirius coughed loudly. James looked down to his almost-reflection in the floor and Lily stared at Fabian. Neither knew what to say.

"Come on, Lily," said Alice as she laid on her back with her head dangling off the end of the ottoman, "I always knew you would come back."

"Seriously now, when will your wedding be?" Gideon asked putting his hands behind his head.

Lily heard James let out his strangled laugh; she was all too familiar with that particular nervous gesture.

"Hey, now, just because Frank and Alice had to go all crazy when we graduated, doesn't mean we all have to get married now." Sirius blurted out getting up from his seat. "More water anyone?"

"Sirius," Alice shrieked sitting up, "We did not go crazy!"

"Sure, not by your standards maybe." With that, Sirius disappeared into the kitchen.

Lily was relieved that the attention was diverted; she would have to thank Sirius later.

"I still can't believe that you two are married," Marlene said quietly reclining into the now empty spot on the love seat. Frank sat up and hugged Alice from behind. "It seems like only yesterday that you started dating."

"We have been out of Hogwarts longer than you younglings have," Alice said with a wink.

"Oh, it would be so nice to go back to Hogwarts," Fabian whispered setting his glass down on the coffee table.

"Yeah," said Frank, "No worries and no war."

Out of nowhere, James leaned back and took Lily's hand in his. Her eyes snapped up to his. He was casually leaning back on his elbows with his hair sticking up in the back as it always did.

In their seventh year they would just lay in bed together at night in silence. Lily would get bored eventually and ask, "What are you thinking?" in the smallest voice she had. He never knew what to say. Sometimes he would talk about Quidditch or about an article he read in the Daily Prophet. Other times James would reply, "Nothing." However, most of the time, he would grab her hand and squeeze it gently saying how he felt for her with his eyes. This time her gaze must have said something back to him. He lightly smiled.

Sirius's return snapped her attention from James. "What's on the agenda today, anyway?"

"I'm tired," Marlene said almost lying down on the sofa.

"I am too," both Prewitts said.

"Well," James said, "There are plenty of beds here. And I'm almost betting Moody will want us for research in four hours or so." He got to his feet holding out his hand for Lily. "Later today we can all go to headquarters for Moody's briefing and surprise him." Lily stood on her own, as usual.

"Perfect, James, you are too kind! I did not want to go home to my crazy roommate," Marlene said as she walked to a far hallway, knowing exactly what bedroom she wanted to get to. Sirius followed her stretching his arms above his head. They were followed by Alice and Frank.

"You know what Potter," Fabian said looking around, "I think Gid and I are going to be just fine here on the couch."

"Yep, Potter," Gideon said, "Just fine."

Lily looked to James, "I'm not tired enough yet."

James was astonished. "Alright, I guess we can head upstairs."

The two turned to the nearby, solid oak staircase. Gideon yelled, "Hey, you two, don't keep us up!"

While Fabian followed with, "Yeah, you two kids can go snog or something. We might be sleeping for a long while. You'll have plenty of time." Lily started heading upstairs smirking back at James, noticing the slight tinge of pink to his face.

As they arrived at the top Lily got a strange reminder of the muggle house they came from. An odd knot in her stomach appeared and she could feel her own heartbeat quicken.

"James," she whispered, "I need a distraction."

"Weird feeling again?" he asked. She usually needed her "distractions" right after an investigation or raid.

She nodded, "I just can't get it out of my head." Without thinking, Lily turned into the second room on the right side of corridor. The room was pitch black; however, she still knew her way around it. It hadn't changed at all. James hesitated following her; after all, they hadn't been alone in his room for a while.

"They were so young," she said sitting down on his bed.

"We'll find whoever did this," he said after a deep breath, "We always do, don't we?" James saw her head shake back and forth, she needed a distraction. "I think Marlene fancies Sirius."

A short sigh escaped her mouth, "She always has." She threw herself farther onto his mattress reaching for one of his many goose-down pillows, "The Prewitts are still the same I see."

"Yeah, they haven't changed a bit."

"They're so funny." She situated the pillow behind her head and closed her eyes, "I see you still have sleepovers."

James remained seated with his bare feet touching the plush rug beneath. "Well, it is always too quiet and boring in here. It is a big house and I'm still not sure what to do with it all. Sirius, on the other hand, keeps me entertained for no price at all."

Lily's eyes opened again and saw his famous smirk creep across his face. "You look good, Jay," she said smiling in return.

"You do too," said James, his smirk fading away. A few moments passed by with Lily gazing at the ceiling and James sitting at an awkward angle looking at her. "It's going to be a nice day, I think."

Lily craned her head to peer out of James's crimson curtains. "Yeah. A brand new day."

"A brand new day." James repeated.

"Are you tired, yet?" Lily asked him.

"Not really," he said, "I still can't believe you're here." She didn't say anything back. "When Remus said that he invited you to dinner I was worried. I didn't think you would come." His face scrunched up. "Well, I supposed you would show up and that scared the hell out of me. I figured I would say or do something stupid and you would leave or Sirius would say something. I just—I didn't know what to do." Lily brushed her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry." He chuckled, "I'm rambling again."

"I hate it when you ramble," she said smiling softly.

He looked down to her, "Lily, what are you thinking?"

She lifted her head up to rest on her elbow. "What am I thinking?"

"Well, yeah," he choked out, "I need you to say something. This is so awkward for me. I just saw you for the first time in one hundred and five days and now, here we are, on my bed like nothing happened."

She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, "James, I'm sorry." She paused still fussing with her long hair, "I should just go."

"No," he said grabbing her forearm, "You can't go now. I won't let you go now. I need some answers from you."

"James, I'm sorry!" She said hissed, "I am so sorry that I have been jerking you around for the past four years. I did not torture you intentionally, alright?" Her voice was harsh but she kept her volume level down for the sleeping members downstairs.

James held his head down. "Lils, I just want to know what you're thinking." She sighed and held her head in her hands. "I can't understand you. I've tried so hard. Times like these, like when we were Heads, you-you act differently." He hesitated. "What changed?"

"Everything changed, James," she said quietly, trying to make sense of their conversation, "I want it to go back. I want to live here in this world and be happy like Frank and Alice. I want to go to the Leaky Cauldron every Thursday night with the boys and watch you play Quidditch again." She put James's pillow back and sat up. "It's just so hard for me to be happy when people just like us are dying every day for no reason."

James pulled Lily in his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's not fair." She was defeated, James hated when her voice dropped to that tone. "I want to be with you. You make me feel like there is no war going on."

"I wish there wasn't," he whispered into her hair, "If you leave me because of Voldemort and his crazy antics—I won't know what to do with myself."

"I know—I know I shouldn't let him get to me, but—"

"Ugh, but nothing, Lils," James said pulling away to look into her eyes, "Remember what Dumbledore said when he asked us to join? Do you remember that night?

With a slight nod she said, "It was after our first shift of patrols and he was waiting for us in our common room." She started to laugh, "He said—"

"He said, "I half expected you two to be snogging on the couch,"" James grumbled in his best Dumbledore accent.

She giggled, "Yes, and he said that we would be fighting for our future together." Her soothing voice died off suddenly. "For our future and for the futures of others to come."

"Lily, we are going to change things for the better." He leaned in to place his forehead on hers. "I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy," whispered Lily, "I was miserable in London by myself. It was hard and lonesome."

"You won't be lonely here, I promise."

"You promise?"

"Lily Evans, I'm not going anywhere."

"You promise?" she repeated, her eyes begging his.

"I solemnly swear," he whispered back. Tentatively, James leaned in a few more inches to close the gap between their lips. A bold move on his part, but one he felt could suffice his mad urges. Nights like these, emotionally draining, made him yearn for normalcy and security. His hand rose to gently grab the back of her neck pulling her closer as they kissed again.

They both relaxed, their bodies melting into the familiarity of the situation. There was no war, no Voldemort, no Death Eater clan—they were carefree.

Lily's passion always got the better of her at times like these; she crawled into James's lap and kissed him with more ferocity than before. "I missed you so much," she gasped in between his advances. Her fingers went to their more natural positions, in his hair and running over his chest.

He said quickly, "I missed you more." It was true. She was all he thought about. James's hands rested on her hips and back and then snaked up to her hair and neck. More kissing and James found himself on top of Lily's body touching her the way he used to, kissing her in all the places he knew she loved. He let his hand trace the side of her stomach and grasp her hip. Lily's mind was blank while she lent in to kiss his neck and jaw line.

They did not notice the footsteps walking towards them from the staircase until it was too late.

James's bedroom door hadn't been shut and the couple snapped upright to see a familiar silhouette in the doorway.

"Oi, Prongs! You should at least shut the bloody door."

It was Sirius-again.

"Padfoot," James said regaining his breath, "It is my house after all!" James grabbed one of his pillows and threw it for his best mate's head. Luckily Sirius had already closed the door between them.

"Calm down, Prongsie," he yelled from the other side, "I just came to tell you that Dumbledore is on his way over." Sirius cracked open the door. "He says it's an emergency and it involves you and Lils."


	4. Four: Information

"Mister Potter, Miss Evans, I would understand your refusals." Dumbledore stood in the Potters' kitchen with his elegant hands resting on a long slab of granite counter top.

Both Lily and James stood opposite the elder man, side by side. The others had left.

"Sir," James started out slowly, "I would have no problem throwing myself in there, but I have reserves about Lily returning too quickly."

"I can see that very well," Dumbledore said smiling gently at the two, "We need a pair that collaborates well together. Miss Evans, you have unique relations with a specific Death Eater and-"

"I haven't seen him in ages, Professor," Lily blurted out, "Please forgive me for interrupting, but I don't see how this could accomplish anything." She paused, "It just sounds absurd to me."

Dumbledore walked around the kitchen's center island to look out one of its large windows. "Miss Evans, I think you underestimate the feelings that these men have for you."

James took a glance at Lily's face to see her reaction; unfortunately for him there was no reaction to be seen. Dumbledore must have noticed something, however.

"Miss Evans, I have complete confidence in you two," said Dumbledore as he continued to walk around the kitchen looking at a few of the Potters' old pieces of china. "Did you know, James, that I broke one of your mother's china mugs almost twenty years ago?"

James shook his head, "No, sir."

"I was over to celebrate your father's retirement from the Ministry. Your mother was serving tea when she also made an announcement that she was pregnant with you." He laughed, "I was so shocked; I dropped the mug and it broke into three pieces."

Lily and James looked to one another.

"I repaired it of course," Dumbledore added. "I'm glad to hear that you kept it all after she died."

"You know my mother wouldn't have had it any other way, Professor."

"Yes," Dumbledore said with a sigh, "I am very sorry for your losses." His gaze fell onto Lily, "I am sorry to the both of you."

"Professor," Lily started crossing her arms over her chest, "You said that you would understand my refusal."

"Yes, I will. You both have been through a lot since you graduated and I would completely identify with you wanting to take it easy at the present time." His eyes fell, "I only wanted to explore all of our options as it seems that the attacks are getting closer to muggleborn students."

The sun was hidden behind a blanket of clouds that rolled in from the east. The Potters' home had a vast field in the back and the farthest corner still had some sunlight hitting hit. It was almost noon and the Potter home was still gray and cold.

"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said looking out the window again, "Together you and Mister Potter will be doing the Order a tremendous deed." He seemed to glide over to her side. "You know as well as I that Severus Snape does not want to continue what he is doing." James turned away. "You alone could convince him to leave the Dark Lord's faction."

"Sir, I already said, Severus and I have not talked to each other in over a year." Lily's voice lowered. She spat, "I want nothing to do with him and what he has done." James's eyes widened at her tone with their past professor.

"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said, "You seem tired." He gracefully put his hand on her shoulder and said, "I will let you sleep and think it over with Mister Potter until tomorrow."

"No, Professor—"

"Call me Albus, Lily,"

"Professor," she continued, "I want to help you and the Order, but I cannot do that."

"Miss Evans, James will be by your side. Severus sees you as a positive reinforcement and having him on our side will not only give us his talents, but we will gain valuable information."

"I can't even guarantee he will speak with me." She took a breath, "And what kind of person am I if I use him for information?"

"Lils," James said softly, not even looking her in the eyes, "He owes you."

"And we will try to prevent more killings." Dumbledore took off his crescent moon shaped glasses and sat them on the counter. "Miss Evans, I just need you to ask him. You are the only soul that he will listen to."

The few trees in the field started to sway with the wind and a few rain drops hit against the glass.

"I'll speak with him," said Lily, reluctantly.

James put his hand on the small of her back, "I'll come with you."

Oooooooooooooooooo

"You should have gotten some sleep," James said as he and Lily walked down a rain-dampened cobbled street outside London.

"I'm fine." Lily tightened a scarf around her neck. "Hopefully this won't take long."

They continued down the street watching the dark and dingy buildings flanking the sides go by. The gutters along the sidewalks were littered with trash and mud and the only foliage to be seen were the weeds that snaked through the cracks in the cobblestones. It was dusk; Lily and James had waited too long to start their journey.

"Alright," Lily said bringing their journey to a halt, "We're here."

James looked ahead to the house Lily was staring at. It was definitely not picturesque in his opinion. The two windows it had facing the street were no larger than a person's head. The front door was a deep shade of grey and it looked about as old as Professor McGonagall. Not exactly an inviting or cozy home in the least. It looked like a home for Severus Snape.

"Well," he said, "We should get this over with."

"You should stay here," Lily said as she faced him.

James staggered, "Stay here? What—outside?"

"Yeah," Lily played with the heel of her shoe in the mud, "I'll only take a few minutes."

"So, you're going to go into that house alone," he paused, "With Severus Snape, a Death Eater."

She sighed, "James, its Severus. I'll be alright."

"Exactly, it's Snape." James took hold of Lily's arm, "I don't want you alone in there."

"I will be fine," she said gently. Seeing the look of defiance on James's face she said, "Just give me a few minutes. If you hear me scream you can come right on in and save the day. You know he won't take too kind to you." She giggled and poked him in his chest.

"Hurry up," he sternly said, "I'll be right outside the door."

Without a word Lily left his side and took two steps to the front door and knocked five times. She waited there for a while, but Lily knew that Severus always took a while to answer the door. She knew he always looked out the side window to her right to peer out on the visitors he had, and soon enough she saw his eyes look down to her. She tried her best to look enthusiastic and smiled.

Again, it took him a while, but soon the door creaked open and Severus Snape stood before her.

"Hello, Sev," she said quietly. He did not reply. "How are you?" She seemed to sound genuine enough from James's point of view.

"What are you doing here?" Snape's voice was raspy and his eyes were searching the road behind her.

"I came to see you."

"Really," he said sounding skeptical still searching the street. Apparently James had hid in the shadows down the side of the house.

"Well," Lily said looking away from Snape's dark eyes, "I wanted to talk to you about something important."

He looked nervous but moved out of the doorway, "Come in."

After that, James watched her disappear into the darkness of Snape's living quarters, promising himself that if he heard any distressing noise he would break the door down.

Walking inside, Lily felt relieved to know that Severus hadn't changed his house too much. There weren't skulls on his mantle or the Dark Mark painted on the walls.

"It's been a while," Snape said standing still while Lily roamed his living room.

"I know." She finally took a seat on his dark green couch that seemed oversized for the small room.

"Can I get you anything?" Snape asked looking a little more pale than usual.

She looked up, "Nothing, thank you."

An awkward second passed by and then Snape took a seat in a chair opposite her.

"How have you been, Sev?"

"Alright, I guess." Severus leaned back into the chair. "You?"

"Alright," Lily said nodding while crossing her leg. She took a breath, straightening her back, "Look, Sev, I came here to ask you a few questions."

"I had a feeling. You look tired," he said quietly looking to the table that separated them.

"Sev, I know that you partake in certain events by the word of a certain _person_, and recent happenings have led me here looking for answers."

"Lils," he said gently, "just say it outright." She remained silent. "I am a Death Eater and I report to Lord Voldemort. Go ahead."

"I—I just want to know where Avery is hiding."

"Avery?"

"Yes, Avery. I want to know where he is."

Snape sat up in his chair, "Why, Avery?"

"Be—because he," Lily stammered, "He is responsible for killings in Surrey."

"Oh," Snape said leaning back again, "The attack on the muggles in Surrey is why you're here."

"Yes, I mean, we need something, Sev. I hate seeing innocent people die because of this stupid blood war." Her tone was calm and even as if they were talking about laundry detergents.

"I haven't seen you in eleven months and you want me to just divulge everything on your plate so you can be Dumbledore's little retriever."

"Sev," she said folding her hands, "I didn't come here to argue with you. Quite frankly, I didn't really want to come and see you at all."

His jaw dropped suddenly, "Lily why are you in my house?"

"I'm sorry, Sev. I want to punish Avery for what he did."

He laughed slightly, "Punish him?"

"Yes. He killed two children and terrorized the entire neighborhood. I cannot let someone like that repeat his actions."

Snape sat still and his face darkened. The sunlight no longer leaked in through the small windows. The air in Snape's home felt stuffy and hot.

"So," she said readjusting her position on the couch, "I just want to know where he is."

Snape did not move.

"Sev," she urged on, "Tell me where to find him."

He looked into her eyes and the connection scared her a bit. "I knew about the attack."

"Sev, I don't want to get into the details—"

"Lily," he said, "I did _not_ know about the children until after."

"Does it matter? He killed children, Sev." She looked to the ceiling trying to recover, "He hunted them down and killed them point blank." She snapped at him raising her voice, "Tell me where he is!"

"Why did you come back?" he asked over her.

"What?"

"Why did you come back here?" They were both yelling now.

"You were the only person I knew that could—"

"No," he said standing to his feet, "Why didn't you stay hidden? Damn it, you were safe there!"

Lily glared up at him as he towered over her. "I came back because this whole thing has to stop. People are dying now, innocent people are dying!"

He walked around the table and leaned down to her face, "You still don't know what you are talking about. Do you?"

Their eyes met in a tense standstill. His gaze was searching her face for fear, rejection, and even disappointment. She replied in anger, "You will never change."

"You shouldn't have come back, Lily. This war will consume you. You were safer in London."

"Until when?" She stood up to him, nose to nose, "Would I be safe for the rest of my life? Would I ever see my friends again? I would have to spend my whole life running and hiding. I would never have a family or a real job," she held her hands up, "What kind of a life is that?" She yelled at him like she never had before, "Is that what you want for me?"

His whole body seemed to shrink in her eyes, "No."

"How could you?" She asked, her eyes pleading with him, "How could you support them?" She really should have slept a few more hours. Fighting with Severus was testing her patience. She screamed at him, "How could you? After all you meant to me!"

"I—"

"No," she choked out, trying to stay calm, "I will find Avery by myself and I will not stop until Voldemort is dead or I am!" She pointed her finger at him, "This war has to stop!"

"Lil—"

BANG! At that precise moment Snape's front door flew open and hit against his wall creating a nice sized hole in the drywall where the doorknob punched through. James stood in the doorway with the light from the streetlamps illuminating his outline.

A somewhat overdramatic entrance; nonetheless, James Potter had made it clear that it was time to leave.

Snape's face turned to stone, "Potter."

"Snape." James looked to Lily whose face was almost red in frustration, "Let's go."

She sighed and straightened her hair. Walking towards the door Snape's voice stopped her.

"Lily, I don't know where Avery is right now." She shook her head and continued towards James and the door. "Lily," Snape called catching up to her at his entryway. He reached out to grasp her forearm ever so gently and said softly, "There's another attack to take place in forty minutes at this address." He handed her a scrap of parchment with a house and street scribbled in his own handwriting, "If you get there soon you should be able to set up."

Lily looked at him and back down to the parchment, "Will Avery be there?"

He nodded, "We will all be there eventually." He saw her tighten her jaw. "Don't go alone."

"She won't," said James who stood in the street.

Ignoring the comment, Snape whispered to her ear, "The Dark Lord will be there." Snape pulled her closer to him, "They know not to harm you but I cannot promise anything for Potter. Voldemort will abandon the attack if he thinks the area has been compromised."

She twisted her arm free putting on her best attempt at chivalry, "I guess I will be seeing you again tonight then, Sev."

"Be careful," he said.

She smiled at him once more and went to the street. James stood waiting for her with anticipation and confusion etched into his face.

She increased her pace and again wrapped her scarf more securely to her neck, "We have thirty minutes to get to this address, and we will need everyone there as well. Voldemort will make an appearance."


	5. Five: Waiting: Once

"Potter," Moody said pointing in James's general direction, "You and Evans will be in the rafters."

After Lily and James alerted the key members of the Order and Dumbledore, they found themselves apparating to the address on the scrap of parchment from Snape. It was an older cottage on a large plot of land owned by the Mason family, a well-to-do clan of many past and present Hogwarts graduates. The house's great room consisted of a large fireplace, plush furnishings, and high ceilings. Voldemort's coming had the Order members on edge about the entire operation that Moody planned out.

"The rafters, sir?" asked James as the others got into their positions.

"Yes, Potter, the rafters." Moody pointed with one of his scarred hands to the ceiling of the cottage where large wooden rafters skewered through the home. "I want them surrounded on every single side."

Apparently Mad Eye wanted to be on a whole different level when it came to the Dark Lord's arrival. James nodded and turned to Lily.

"Well," she said holding her wand in hand, "shall we get up there?"

James looked around for something to climb on; he decided that a bookshelf on the far side of the room would do. Carefully placing his feet in the empty spaces on the shelving, James continued up until he could reach up and pull his body onto the beam. Astonishingly enough, the beam was just wide enough for him to stand, comfortably on.

He motioned for Lily, smiling, "Come on, it's just a little dusty."

Gingerly Lily made her way up the bookcase and James helped her atop the wooden girder. She laughed nervously at the whole situation, "This should be interesting if anything."

James tried to compose himself, the last time he and Lily ran into the infamous Dark Lord, things did not go over so well. "You know in our last year, in the forest," he began and she nodded, "I don't think Voldemort expected to see us ever again."

She acknowledged, "Probably not. He sure will be surprised won't he?"

"Alright everyone," Moody shouted from the floor ten feet below, "according to our informant we have less than fifteen minutes. That means, lights out, no conversing, and little movements. Get into a comfortable position and wait for my signal."

With that, the operation began. The plan was to hide in positions outside the home and inside, wait for the Dark Lord to arrive, surround them all, and place arrests. Dumbledore chose not to alert the Ministry, understandably due to recent treachery cases. All in all, the Order wanted to arrest Avery and whoever else made their list of fugitives.

"Lils," James said tugging at her pony tail, "take your hair down."

Her long red ponytail forced him back to their seventh year.

She and James had just finished patrolling the halls when a flashing green light erupted out of the Forbidden Forest. Sharp neon green flashes struck through the many trees and bushes lining the Hogwarts boundary.

"What on Earth was that?" Lily asked looking out a stained glass window.

"I'm not sure." James knew in his heart what he thought those flashes were but couldn't be certain.

"We should check it," she said drawing her wand and heading down the corridor, "it's most likely the Slytherins out again."

"No, we need Dippet or Dumbledore on this." His breathing was short. James did know for certain that he did not want Lily to check this one out.

"James, what's wrong?"

"It's in the forest," he stammered, "and out of our jurisdiction." He shrugged his shoulders, "there's nothing we can do."

She hesitated, looked out the window again, and put her wand back into her pocket, "You're right. Let's go to Dumbledore's office." The two turned on their heels and headed upstairs. "He's usually up this late."

They hurried up two floors and briskly moved down a long hall to Dumbledore's office; however, Dumbledore and three other faculty members were already outside conversing in hushed voices.

"—we shouldn't alarm the students." Minerva McGonagall whispered wearing her night attire and her hair tied into a long braid.

Dumbledore looked up from their huddle, "Mister Potter, Miss Evans," he said quietly, "You two are up late."

Lily was rather embarrassed. James, however, went right up the group and addressed them politely, "Professors, Lily and I saw a rather strange green light shoot out from the forest about four minutes ago."

"Yes, Mister Potter," Dumbledore said gently, "we all saw the light. That is just what we were discussing."

James hesitated, "Is it what I think it was, Sir?"

McGonagall looked to Dumbledore, her eyes were wide. Dumbledore nodded, "Indeed, we believe that past students are performing some magic tricks in the forest at our expense."

James and Lily remained quiet.

"They need to be stopped Dumbledore," Minerva sputtered out, "someone could be seriously injured or worse."

"Your heart is always in the right place, Minerva," he said as he began to walk down the hallway to the exit, "Mister Potter, Miss Evans, follow us." James and Lily took their position behind the previous five faculty members that trailed Dumbledore outside. After walking past the large wooden doors he turned to them and whispered, "You two must remain in this spot and guard these doors with Professor Binns and Professor Calloway. No student gets in or out. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," both Lily and James said in unison.

Professor Binns did not say a word to the Head students about what was going on; in fact, he did not take his eyes off of the spot where Dumbledore and the others entered the Forbidden Forest. James watched the trees looking for any kind of movement; he could sense how nervous the teachers had become. Lily watched James and Professor Binns. She assumed that James thought of the killing curse for the green light, but students would never be that careless about a spell that lethal.

A few minutes passed when screams erupted out of the night air. Shouts and curses flew through the atmosphere, sending beams of red, yellow, and green jetting out from the dark shadows in between the trees. Binns jumped and stood out from the entrance, "You two stay here." He drew out his wand and ran into the forest, taking the same path as the others.

James and Lily went by strict instincts; they drew their wands and guarded that entrance along with Professor Calloway. Panicked cries and menacing laughs sent chills down their spines. They had never heard sounds like that before. They had never expected to hear those sounds while safe at Hogwarts.

Suddenly a red stream of light shot out from the trees and hit a window on the castle causing it to crash. Lily covered her head and James pulled her farther from the glass and next to another wall.

"Professor," James said quietly, not wanting to draw attention to them, "what is going on?"

At that moment Professor Calloway turned to James and Lily taking his eyes off of the forest for three seconds at the most and another jet of green light protruded from the shadows and hit their professor straight in the back. Lily screamed and their professor fell to the ground with a sickening thud. The two Head students looked up to see a cloaked figure emerge from the tree line. The figure was taller than James and even had his face covered in black. It walked straight up to them.

James, acting, again, purely on instinct and in a flash, shut the massive doors behind himself locking the professors and themselves out of the castle. The figure stopped dead in its tracks and stared at the two students. More screams leaked out in the night while more shrubbery moved and three more cloaked wizards climbed through the foliage. Lily and James both had their wands drawn standing steadily in front of the entryway.

"Children?" The question came from the first figure whose face was still hidden.

"Yes, my lord," one of the other replied, "the Head students this year: Potter and Evans."

The four wizards advanced upon Lily and James slowly surrounding them in a semi-circle, and more shouts were heard.

"You two are very brave. You must be joking." The main figure's voice was so domineering and harsh that Lily shuddered as he walked even closer. "You think children will stop me?"

"Tom!" Lily's and James's heads whipped to the side from where Dumbledore's voice was heard. "You will die if you take one more step!"

"Dumbledore," the figured shouted back, "you intend to use children against me?"

"Why not, Tom? You also have children against me." James notice the other three figures seemed to shrink at the severe tone Dumbledore was using.

The figures all removed their hoods. Rudolphus Lestrange, Geoffrey Goyle, and Lucius Malfoy stood out in James's mind: all previous students at Hogwarts and previous Slytherins. The figure in front was new to James and Lily. The man was definitely older than the others, and yet he still had a handsome tone to his features.

"Dumbledore," the newcomer said, "this excites me."

"Tom, you cannot be forgiven for this!"

"Oh, I understand you old man," Tom shouted across the grass, "I hope you may now understand me." There was a large flash of green that shot out at Dumbledore's direction and a massive cloud of black smoke filled the immediate area. James grabbed a hold of Lily's arm only to have it wrenched from him seconds later. Her scream rang in James's ears.

"Lily!" James called out panicking, trying to see through the smog.

"Tom," James could hear Dumbledore's voice and it held a sheer sense of dread, "What will you gain by this?" James searched along the wall for the door; it was still shut.

Voldemort's voice rang out, "Open the doors!"

"I will not."

The smoke started to clear out and James couldn't bear to look at the sight before him. Lily was being held by Lucius Malfoy. One hand was securely latched onto Lily's long ponytail, while the other held his wand to her neck. James's eyes widened in fear, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't help but notice how cruel Lucius had become since graduating five years ago.

"I will kill her!" Voldemort stood facing Dumbledore with his wand pointing back to Lucius and Lily. Lucius pulled on Lily's hair severely, causing her to wince and curve her neck dangerously backwards.

"Tom, this will not go on any farther. Why won't you talk to me civilly?" James noticed Lucius lower his wand hand and snake it around Lily's midsection entrapping her more.

"That is too late! You must see that I am inescapable and you will—"

A red light from the forest blasted into the ground between Dumbledore and Voldemort frightening them both. James took his moment to unleash his fury upon Lucius. One well aimed charm sent him riling in pain to the ground. Voldemort and the three Death Eaters disappeared in an instant leaving Hogwarts in chaos.

"Potter, Evans," Moody called out, "With the lights on dimly down here you should be well hidden. Black, Meadows, Lupin, are you three secure?"

James watched as Lily pulled at her hair tie and let her long red hair fall past her shoulders.

He smiled reassuringly, "We'll stop them here." She gave a weak smile back. James knew that they would soon be face to face with those four figures again tonight.

"Alright kids," Moody said, "it's show time."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who reviewed my earlier chapters. It helps me out a ton to hear your ideas and viewpoints! Keep reading folks! ;)

-Aksarben


	6. Six: Intimidation: Twice

The Mason's German shepherd started to snarl at the door. Menacing growls and sharp barks came from the otherwise tame dog. The Masons all sat in the great room while their dog Winston stood by the kitchen door. George Mason was a rather large individual that stood a head taller than Remus Lupin and weighed almost as much as a troll. Martha Mason, his wife, had silver hair that was pinned up in an elegant bun. The Masons' two sons, Alec and Richard, sat together by the fireplace; they both looked to be in their late twenties. The youngest child, Susan, was not at home tonight, conveniently.

Winston was unnervingly still. His lip curled up showing his canines with low snarls seeping out from his throat. George Mason stood up from his seat on the sofa and drew out his wand. Moody told the Masons about the Dark Lord's plan, but the fear was still there. Moody had arrived at the assumption that the Dark Lord would be after Mason's loyalty. George and Martha Mason were two very gifted scientists that worked tirelessly on the affects of spells and potions from ancient times.

"Alec," George Mason said delicately, "your dog is acting strangely."

Both Alec and Richard stood up as well and walked towards their father. All three Mason men peered down the unlit antechamber towards the kitchen where they would see the back door. The door looked the same; it still had its painted white finish as well as its gold door knob. Winston stood planted directly beneath it, his tail motionless and his hair standing up along his spine.

There was a knock at the front door. The Masons heads snapped around. Martha stood up, her hand steadying herself upon a nearby table. Lily could tell that the woman was shaking.

Another loud scrape ran across the back door, Winston started to bark even more aggressively.

More knocking came from the front door. George Mason called out, "Who's there?"

There was no answer.

Alec looked to Richard whose wand was trained on the back door.

"Who's there?" George Mason yelled again, sweeping his eyes along the many windows that lined the walls of the great room.

The door burst open. Martha jumped while the two boys hurried to her side. Overhead, James withdrew his wand slowly and Lily crouched down on the beam to get a better look at the intruder; it could have been Severus, or even Avery. George Mason was not surprised to see who blew open his door. Lord Voldemort occupied the Masons porch with his own wand in hand.

"The infamous Mason family," he spoke out stepping closer to the entryway, "I must say I have not had the pleasure of meeting you fine people."

"You have no right to be here at this time of night." George Mason stood in front of his family holding his wand pointed to the floor not wanting to start a fight.

"Ah, you see Mason; I saw your lights on and was wondering if we could have a little chat." Voldemort now stood encased by the doorframe with his hood down and gestured to others behind him. Soon enough the back door unlocked itself and creaked open. A red spark to Winston's head knocked the dog ceramic floor unconscious. Alec Mason pointed his wand at the door only to see at least five cloaked figures file into the kitchen. Voldemort continued into the home.

"What do you want?" George Mason said strongly, holding his ground.

Voldemort walked gracefully up to the man, "only to chat."

"About what? I demand that you leave my house at once before I call the authorities."

"The authorities will not get here in time, Mason; I can assure you on that." The five figures stalked their way into the great room spreading themselves out along the walls all watching the Mason family huddled in a corner. "I insist that you calm down and speak with me. I would hate for something careless to happen to one of your kin."

"Who are you?" Alec demanded.

"I am Lord Voldemort. I am the one wizard that is going to revolutionize this world." He motioned to the five others and they took off their masks: Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Lestrange, and Lucius Malfoy. "The time for change has come and I am here to make certain it happens properly." No one moved. "You see Masons; I have been going around this neighborhood to all the respected families to ensure them that I am only here to create a better way of living. Your family, I have a particular interest in. With your knowledge on old magic I will have an upper hand on any that come up against me." Richard's mouth dropped. "I am here to offer you a prized position within this revolution." Martha took hold of Alec's shirt and pulled his body to hers. "I am offering you a choice to join me or lose everything you cherish."

"I-I will not join this absurd voyage for attention." George Mason still stood with his wand down looking out his windows only to see another dozen Death Eaters in his yard.

Richard and Martha were getting rather nervous as Voldemort became more agitated.

"Mason," he said twirling his wand in a taunting manner, "you have only one option in this."

Richard's vision connected with Lily's up in the rafters, his eyes were begging for help. She was devastated as James grabbed her shoulder; they had to wait for Moody's signal to move.

The room went silent and Voldemort noticed Richard's glance. "It appears," he said, "that we are not alone."

Moody must not have had another choice as he sent out his purple jet aimed straight at Voldemort who deflected it instantly. The Order members unveiled themselves both inside and outside. Voldemort and his friends were not exactly thrilled to see the sudden outpour of people. They were indeed surrounded on all sides by Remus, Sirius, Marlene, Dorcas, and other members all pointing their wands at a particular Death Eater. Lily and James stood up on the beams with their wands aimed down at the cloaked men. Lily's wand was trained on Avery.

Voldemort was eerily calm, "Well, isn't this a surprise."

Dumbledore erupted out of the fireplace with a large roar of flames. "Tom, you must end this foolish endeavor."

The Dark Lord's head shook back and forth, "You have to meddle in everything, don't you?"

Before anyone could react there was an explosion from Voldemort's wand that seemed to shake the cottage. George Mason was blown backwards against a wall while Richard and Alec shielded their mother from broken glass that flew through the air. Dumbledore's eyes widened with worry but he continued to battle with Voldemort in the small room. Lily and James clung to the rafters for support while spells of all different colors shot across the room. The rest of the Order went into action, fighting off the Death Eaters. Lily saw Remus dueling with Lestrange at a horrifyingly close range. Her eyes searched for Avery.

A vase crashed to the floor as Sirius and Lucius Malfoy physically fought each other, punching and wrestling to the floor. James continually cursed any black figure he could locate through the chaos, bounding back and forth with agility and vigor over the beams. Lily couldn't find Avery.

She looked towards the doors hoping to find him exiting the scene; however, she saw Severus Snape standing in the back doorway instead. His head snapped up to her and their eyes met. Snape tore his gaze from hers to look to his right and there stood Avery. Lily took her chance and sent a perfectly aimed curse at Avery's chest directly over his heart. Avery's eyes closed and he fell to the floor stunned. Snape looked back up to Lily, an impressed smirk curling his lips.

"Lils—" James yelled looking down. Lily followed his gaze and saw Voldemort bring his wand up to where they were standing. In a split second a red beam of light sparked out from the tip of his wand and, like lightening, zipped through the air and shattered the beam they shared. The two seemed to fall in slow motion. Dust and debris followed them down the ten feet to ground zero.

Chunks of wood fell from the ceiling onto Order members and Death Eaters alike. Marlene screamed in agony as her leg was snapped in half, Goyle moaned from beneath a large plank over his chest, and Martha yelled for her sons who disappeared under the debris. Voldemort was the only one left unscathed.

Lily opened her eyes to see James a few feet from her, a long cut bleeding from the left side of his face. She examined herself, no broken bones and she could move her extremities, but she would have many bruises the next day. She rolled onto her back to see Voldemort standing over her.

His expression was unreadable at first. He tilted his head to the side and bent down to her. She had no idea where her wand was.

"Evans," he said grabbing her roughly by the shirt almost lifting her out of the rubble. "I should have known you and Potter would be here."

Dumbledore stood up fully letting some splinters fall off of his back. He slowly aimed his wand at Voldemort's chest. Seeing Dumbledore recovered, Voldemort took one last look at Lily's face and then threw her back down to the floor. She landed on top of James who had just started to get up.

"Stop this foolishness!" Dumbledore's voice was laced with controlled fury, a tone none of the members had experienced before.

Lily searched the ground for her wand quietly running her hands underneath the pieces of wood. She looked around desperately noticing the battle was still going on outside. She saw the Mason family gathering themselves together and Sirius crawling to help Marlene lift a beam from her leg. Inside the house was complete chaos; the chandelier had fallen leaving little light in the room and everyone inside froze, watching Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Voldemort's posture suddenly relaxed, "This has only wasted my time and energy." James saw Voldemort close his eyes and put his head down. Lily found her wand and picked it up. Dumbledore took a quick breath and a great flash of light lit up a corner of the great room. A fireball went up the side of the wall and quickly consumed what was left of the rafters in the ceiling.

Martha Mason's scream brought the severity of the situation back to James's mind. The fire was spreading like a virulent disease along the dust and debris that littered the floor. He jumped to his feet and helped Lily up off the floor; Voldemort had gone. The blaze grew as if assisted by an accelerant, a curse of dark magic.

"James, Lily, the back door!" Sirius was yelling through a curtain of black smoke. He was carrying Marlene in his arms; her small body was limp with her golden curls hanging in her face.

Lily glanced around for others to get outside. Richard Mason broke a windowpane and helped his mother climb safely out with the smoke filing out of the window like a chimney. Alec and George Mason, along with Dumbledore, unblocked the front door and throwing it open adding more and more oxygen to the flames.

Someone screamed, "Get out!"

Lily and James ran through the great room and down the hallway to the kitchen. James helped Sirius carry Marlene through the back door and into the fresh night air. Lily looked around and listened to others outside in the dark.

"The whole house is gone!"

"No, they all left!"

"Is everyone out?"

Lily almost stepped on two bodies that were placed at a safe distance from the house: Avery and Evan Rookwood; a Death Eater that graduated a year ahead of James and Lily.

"Evans," Moody said limping over to her and grabbing the back of her neck, "that was a nice shot at Avery."

She nodded and looked back to the Mason home. There were flames now poking through the roof. The home would be lost. Something cold and went touched the back of her hand, she wrenched it upwards and looked down to see Winston with his tongue out and panting. She took a deep breath and patted the top of the dogs head bending down to its level. "Good dog," she said noticing his matted fur from a cut behind an ear, "it looks like you have a rough night, as well."


	7. Seven: Recovering

I own no part of Harry Potter… Seriously, I don't.

Ooooooooooo

Chapter 7

"Alright Potter," Moody said stowing his wand back in a pocket, "You should get some sleep."

James was, in a single word, exhausted. Exhaustion was a state he was alright with because of the injuries that had occurred to the others. Marlene McKinnon had broken her leg in two places; George Mason got second degree burns along his back; and Remus, Emmeline Vance, and Moody were all hit with a Cruciatus Curse. He was lucky to have only hit his head.

"James," Professor Dumbledore approached, "I think Miss Evans needs some more leisure as well. I also think that you should be accompanied by someone with healing experience for you head wound." James looked skeptical. "I was thinking of Miss Evans perhaps." James looked up to see a small smile upon Dumbledore's lips. "I didn't think you would object."

"Positively not, sir."

"Outstanding Mister Potter, and be sure to check in from time to time."

With a clap on James's back, Dumbledore went back to surveying the damage done to the Mason family. Not only had their house been destroyed, but they had also been harassed by the most feared wizard of the time.

James saw Lily kneeling next to the Mason's large dog. In the night, their shadows were exaggerated by the harsh light that was constructed by Dumbledore. She had blood leaking from a spot hidden beneath her jeans and black soot all over her arms and hands. The wind blew her hair to reveal her pale face and red eyes. Whether her eyes were red from fatigue or crying, he did not know.

"Lily," James called out. Her head turned slowly as she continued to pat the dog's thick fur. "Moody wants us to get some sleep." She took one last look at the dog and stood up. "Let's go," said James walking over to her.

They apparated quickly back to the Potter home. Adrenaline always kicked into Lily's system too late. She could feel her heart beat race as soon as she felt safe and sound. Just being in the silence and security made her realize how much danger she had been in. James saw her put a hand to her forehead and breathe in deep.

"You alright?" he asked.

She looked up to him and nodded, "You don't look too good." She reached up to touch the side of his head where dried blood still remained by his temple.

"I've been in worse shape."

"Yes," she said giving him a stern look, "I know. You and your little Marauder adventures always left you bloodied up." She put her hands onto his chest and leaned her body into his.

He smiled, "Hey, we were trying to save lives, you know." He placed his hands on her waist and she shook her head even as he said, "We sacrifice ourselves so Remus wouldn't accidently eat a second year."

Suddenly, she looked him square in the eye, "Do you feel alright?"

"Yes, mother." He said cheekily.

"I'm serious, James," she pointed at his face, "Follow my finger."

He sighed and did as he was told, watching her forefinger go from right to left and up and down.

"I knew it, you have a concussion!"

"I do not," he said, "you're overreacting." Immediately he regretted saying that to her.

"Overreacting," she questioned, "you think I'm overreacting? I'm sorry; did we not almost die back there?"

"You're right, I'm sorry for saying that." He sat down on the nearest couch, "would you like me to lay down here and you can come wake me every hour?"

"Don't be sarcastic," she said sitting next to him. She pushed James back onto the couch making him lay down on his back with his head beneath a pillow. "And I will wake you every hour just to make sure you're still alive."

He smiled grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together. "I look forward to it."

She smiled back at him, the first real smile that he had seen in months.

"You know I was just thinking about that time you caught us outside at Hagrid's in seventh year." She continued to smile. "You were so mad at me."

"Yes, I was. You lied to me." She leaned over his body, "you all lied to me."

"I have never lied to you," he said, "I just left out some details."

"Ha!" She waved her hands in the air, "Oh, I'm sorry Lily, did I not mention that I can transform myself into a four legged creature? I'm terribly sorry. And, I quote; I didn't think it was needed to know information, end quote."

James sat up and supported himself by his elbows, "I didn't want you to find out that way. I had no idea that you knew about Remus and his furry little problem."

"Of course, I knew," she said, "I know Remus better than you even do."

"Oh, you think so?"

"Yes, I certainly do." She leaned over his body more seductively running her hands up his sides.

He smirked, "I like what adrenaline does to you."

She laughed, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Oh," James said moving to get up, "I'll join you."

She smiled again and pushed him back down, "You will stay here and lay down."

He chuckled, "Thought I would try."

"Maybe next time Mister Potter," she kissed him on the cheek leaving him in even more of a daze.

James sighed dramatically, "You always say that."

Lily disappeared upstairs and James was left alone, exactly what he hated the most. He was left alone with his thoughts. As if his head didn't hurt enough, Voldemort and the Death Eaters didn't sooth his brain. With his parents dead, James had plenty of alone time to think about the present condition of the magical world. Segregation and murders became a popular activity and James could only see if getting worse unless something drastic happened.

He put his legs over the arm of the sofa and closed his eyes. Breathing in the familiar smells of his house helped him relax more. Having Lily directly upstairs relaxed him, too. There were plenty of nights where James snuck out in muggle London to check on her well being. Having her break up with him struck him deep; however, he could not simply write her off. They had spent so much time getting to know each other and divulging their most secret thoughts. James had never gotten to know another girl on such deep a level.

He still missed his years at Hogwarts and the amazing sensations he had while there. James felt safe and in control while being Head Boy. Here in the big, open world he felt insignificant and exposed. He spent several minutes thinking back on his favorite moments with Lily and moments with the Marauders. Where had Peter been tonight? Probably remaining at his mother's death bed. Peter just needed some time to think and spend time alone. James could perfectly understand how Peter felt.

Lily was the next person he thought about. He had missed her so much and he just wanted time to share with her. They needed to catch up and carry on with their relationship. She hadn't objected to their courtship this time around. They hadn't really discussed it much either. Perhaps he could get a word in with her when she was out of the shower.

James heard some floorboards creak in the kitchen and sat up. His head felt light but he tried to focus on the strange clatter. He took his wand back out and stood quietly being sure to not make any sound on the wood base. James tip toed close to the kitchen and held a position on the other side of the doorway and waited. Whatever was in the next room was slowly walking towards him. The footsteps drew nearer and James went white with worry. Who was this person and how did they get into his house? There were dozens of charms set up to forbid apparating from strangers and prevent intruders.

James brought his wand up ready for a strike. His head was realing with possible curses to throw and suddenly the figure came around the corner.

It was Lily, wet and holding two cups of tea. She started at his position. "Jumpy much?" She asked.

He inhaled again, "That was a quick shower."

"I had to check on you." She walked past him in bare feet and an interesting choice of attire. She wore one of his old t-shirts and a pair of his pajama pants tied around her waist. "Like my outfit?" she asked, "I didn't have my bits and pieces brought here yet."

He nodded, "You look fine." She had cursed her hair to have a gentle curl as she used to and smelled like soap.

"Lay back down," she demanded setting the two cups onto the coffee table.

"Sorry. I am a little jumpy right now."

"As usual," she smiled over the mug she brought to her lips, "You can't calm down very well."

"You shouldn't be so modest."

She giggled, "Alright, I am a bit tense as well."

James noticed bruising on the side of one of her arms, most likely from the fall. "You sore from the fall?" He sat down next to her, "Want me to heal those?"

"I don't think so," Lily said picking her feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch, "the last time you wanted heal me, I found myself covered in boils."

"I know what to do now, I practiced on Sirius."

"Great," she said.

"Oh, come on," he said taking her arm gently, "let me. It looks painful." The bruises lined the outside of her arm and with more investigating she also had bruising on the side of her torso and stomach.

"I think I landed on one of the beams."

"You landed on something for sure." He pointed his wand to her arm and muttered some words, surely enough a few seconds later the purple and yellow contusions were gone.

Their faces were close to each other and Lily closed in the gap touching his lips with hers slowly. James pulled away wanting to ask her a question since the day before.

"Lils, are we together again?"

She looked stunned, "yes, unless you don't want to be."

He held her small hands in his, "of course, I want to be, yes."

"Good," she exhaled smiling, "James, I know I hurt you before. I just wanted you to be safe."

He kissed her again, "I can't do this without you." She nodded and kissed him back. He leaned over her and had her lie down in his stead. Gingerly, she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down to her to kiss again. James felt an annoying pressure at the front of his forehead but ignored it to focus on Lily underneath him.

He ran his hand through her silky hair and kissed her deeper. He felt her moan into his mouth, a good sign to continue. He felt her hands go beneath his button down shirt to touch his bare skin. He let his hips touch hers and felt her squirm, he ran his hands up her sides—she yelped.

"Ouch," she hissed, flinching.

"Blood hell, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

She laughed, "I'm alright." She looked up at him, her eyes red with dark circles around them.

"I should heal that and we should go to bed."

"Sounds good."

Oooooooooooooo

Alright folks, you know what to do. I need some feedback… I just don't know what to think of no reviews… Is that a bad thing? Is that a good thing? Should I worry about it at all? Click on the green button down there yonder and let me know please!


	8. Eight: Memories

James woke up at his usual time. The sun snuck in from a small slit where his dark curtains didn't pull together. Surprisingly, the tiny leak allowed his room to fluoresce with the dawn of morning.

He groaned and stretched his legs and left arm, his right arm was detained by Lily. He rolled over and to his delight the redhead was still sleeping. Her head was on one of his gold-colored pillows and her long hair had fanned out all over it, spilling even onto the sheets below.

James couldn't help but think about his seventh year at school when he would wake up to that very frequently. One moment in particular, Remus brings up on occasions.

James and Lily had spent the night together. With all of the excitement James completely forgot to meet Remus for potions studying. It was very early in the morning when James heard a knock on the door of the Head dormitory. Usually James would let Lily get the door but he wanted her to stay where she was for a romantic wake up call.

He sprung from the bed and threw on his robe. James opened his bedroom door, gently shut it behind him, and hurried across the common room lazily, tripping over a large rug. Still regaining his consciousness he unlocked the front door. James saw the handle already turning and the large panel came forward. Remus poked his head into the room.

He smiled, "Oh, I figured Lily would beat you here again."

James rubbed his eyes and backed away leaving his guest ample space to enter. Remus looked wide awake and had two large books in hand. Although it was early, Remus had already showered, dressed, and eaten.

"Are you ready for what?" Remus's voice was chipper and a little too loud for the time.

"Keep it down," said James, "I'm sorry, but I forgot."

Remus smiled, "Look, Prongs, I know all about your excuses." He paused and took in James's lack of school attire, "Were you still sleeping?"

James smirked back, a little embarrassed, "I've never been an early riser, like you."

"Well, I can't say I haven't noticed." Remus shrugged and walked towards James's bedroom.

"Hey," James whispered hurrying in front of him, "couldn't we reschedule?"

Remus sighed, "The exam is in three days. I refuse to allow procrastination when it isn't necessary." He smiled. "Besides, you aren't talking your way out of this one. Get dressed."

Remus went to reach around James for his door; James moved his body farther into the way. Remus looked confused for a split second and looked up. "What?"

"I'm really tired," said James running his hand through his hair.

"Prongs, you—" Remus halted and tilted his head, "Is there a girl in there?"

James's mouth went agape and he tried to think of something to say. All that came out of him was a slight, "Uh . . ." Remus pushed passed James and entered the bedroom looking towards the bed. He saw another figure asleep beneath a large comforter. Remus's head whipped around to James.

"I knew it." Remus hissed, lowering his voice and walking even closer to the bed. He peeked around the duvet and did a double take; James could hear his intake of air. Remus looked up in shock; his eyes were as large as bludgers. All he could do was point to the sleeping form with a single finger.

James didn't want to say anything. He was sure that Remus had seen Lily's dark red curls spilling over the pillows and her ivory skin in the dim light. Remus quietly backed away using only the tips of his toes. When he got close enough to James he grabbed his wrist and led him back out of the room.

"Is that—" His eyes were moving rapidly, "How?"

James knew Remus wasn't stupid beyond any means, "She had a nightmare." Remus remained stunned and raised his eyebrows.

"A nightmare?"

"Yeah," he groaned, "she keeps having the same one about her parents and I didn't know what else to do."

Remus exasperated, "So you slept with her?"

"I didn't sleep with her," James sighed hanging his head. "I just let her stay here with me for the rest of the night."

"Really," replied Remus skeptically.

"Yes. She was crying. I couldn't leave her." James pleaded to Remus, "I don't want this getting out, either."

The two boys stood there and stared back at the floor.

"I'm not Sirius," said Remus, "I can keep this quiet." He paused, "How long has this been going on?" Remus leaned back onto the arm of the couch.

"A few weeks."

"You've gotten a lot closer."

"I've been trying to cheer her up."

Remus nodded. James heard him sigh and look up the ceiling, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Look, James, her parents just died. I know you fancy her, but she's not ready for advances right now."

"I'm just trying to make her happy again."

"Well," Remus said standing up and grabbing his books from the table, "I guess we can study this afternoon." He went to leave, "By the way, Sirius is going to ask where you are. Make up something good."

Movement on his arm woke him from his trance, Lily's head stirred quickly to the side and she breathed in deep. He saw her eyes open slightly in a small slit, just wide enough for James to see the gorgeous emerald green.

She smiled.

"Good morning," James said looking down to her.

She laughed, "Hello."

"Sleep better? It's almost eight." James noticed that the room had gotten significantly lighter and he could hear a bird chirping outside.

Lily nodded and stretched her body, arching her back from the bed. James took that time to free his arm from under her head; his fingers were beginning to tingle.

"How does your head feel?" She asked propping herself up on an elbow.

James almost forgot about the slight pulse behind his eyes, "I'm alright. You didn't wake me up every hour like you said you would." James rolled onto his side to face her and put a hand on her hip.

"I did for the first half of the night."

He smiled back to her.

"You don't have your glasses on. You're squinting," she giggled before playfully messing up his hair.

"I am not," James said back to her. She laughed in response and he pounced on top of her. She gasped and he put his forehead to hers. "I'm not that far away from you."

Their laughs died down as James placed a quick peck on her lips.

"Do you feel alright?" James asked.

She sighed contently, "Yes, thank you."

"You were pretty upset last night." He touched one of her auburn strands of hair. "Was it the same dream?"

Her vision went unfocused as she mumbled, "Yes."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "Did you want to get more dreamless sleep potion?"

"Maybe," she said softly.

"You know, I missed this." He nuzzled her neck, "I got used to waking up with you."

Lily looked straight into James's hazel eyes hard, "Where do we go from here?"

Her stare startled him, "What do you mean?"

"Where are we going from here, James?"

He held himself up over her body with his arms and took a deep breath. "Lils, I already told you. I just want you to be happy." James knew what she was getting at. She wanted to know how committed they were to each other. James often thought about that very question. He wanted to be with her so badly and desired it night and day, but how did she feel about him.

"And I want you to be happy." She wasn't smiling any longer and that scared James.

"Lily," he said brushing her skin with his fingers, "Avery's been arrested. We got three Death Eaters in Azkaban because of your help. You're making this world a safer place. I see this war ending soon—I really do."

"I wish I did."

"I don't want you focusing on a war when we have each other."

She sat up forcing James to roll onto the other side of the bed, "How can I focus on you when our friends' lives are in danger? Because, James, no matter how much I wish I had a normal life, I don't." She hugged her knees. "I want to get married and have children and have a job, but I can't because of some man with tyrannical ideas."

"I know, it's not fair, Lils, but you can do those things." He sat up next to her placing a hand on her back, "Don't let Voldemort run your life."

She looked to his face and he saw nothing but sadness; he was so tired of seeing her hurt. "Look, I'm nineteen years old and I have no one else in my life that I love, but you." He looked to the side, "Alright, along with the Marauders."

The last statement made her grin.

"Lils, what I feel with you makes me nervous as hell. I love you and I always will, no matter what." He felt her back tense slightly and jump under his hand. He added, "I want the best for you."

"I love you, too, and I'm just as scared as you." She relaxed her position and fell backwards onto the pillows. "It's just-I'm afraid that this war could ruin me like it has with Sev. I know you two never got along, but he's changed so much. He's alone and dark and doesn't talk with anyone. He sits at home all day, he looks sick. I just want to live without worry, you know?"

James nodded. "Going from last night to this morning has been incredible. You could have been killed and now you're lying next to me." He ran a hand through his already messy hair. "I hate seeing you in danger and worst yet, I hate seeing you so confused." She furrowed her brow. "It's like you're not sure if I'm with you one hundred percent. I am."

"It's just, watching Sev—"

"I'm not Snape, Lily. I'm not going to change on you. I already have changed and I have made up my mind." James's voice was steady and firm, "I want nothing else than to be with you and to make sure that this bloody war ends."

"James," she whispered, "we're nineteen years old. We shouldn't be worrying about living or dying. This is so unfair." She covered her eyes with her arms and tried to calm her breathing.

"I know it's unfair," James said leaning over her body again and removing her arms to see her face, "I want you to be with me forever and be happy."

"That sounds good."

"Lily, I hate living by myself in this place. I really hated having you live by yourself with all this nonsense going on."

She interjected, "Are you asking me to move in?"

"Yes," he said laying his head onto her stomach and breathing in her scent. "I want to you stay here with me, permanently."

She played with his hair gently while he continued to lie upon her. "Permanently?"

"Permanently," he added looking into her eyes. He raised his head and crawled up her torso. "Would you stay with me permanently?"

She nodded and her breath hitched, "That sounds nice."

"Well, then," he said kissing her fully, "Lily Evans, you are always welcome to this house and especially this room."

She smirked.

A sharp rapping came from the large window on the opposite side of James's room. The two shot up in bed and James slowly crawled off of her. "It's awfully early for Sirius to be up." James pulled his curtains to the side and noticed a small brown owl sitting on the sill. He turned to Lily, "Are you expecting any news?" She shook her head vigorously. He allowed the owl inside and it shook a little. James noticed a piece of parchment and untied it from the bird. Hesitantly he unrolled the scrap of paper and read:

Lily,

I hope Selene is able to find you this time, I bet you're over at Potter's. Dumbledore called a meeting at Mad Eye's place and you are on my call tree. I have missed you dearly and I hope to see you tonight. The meeting is at nine and don't forget to wear black because—you know Mad Eye's place—there won't be a clean spot anywhere. And, please send me back a confirmation.

Cheers,

Dorcas

"It's for you," James called over to Lily who instantly got out of bed. "Dorcas wants to know where you've been." He smirked and held the paper up high dangling it over her. She reached to grab it while poking him in the rib cage making him drop it. She scanned the paper quickly.

"Hmm," she mumbled, "Selene is a smart bird." She jotted down a reply and sent the bird off.

OOOOooooooo

Alright folks, sorry for the boring chapter. I'm transitioning, I promise. I just wanted to detail how James and Lily got together so quickly. Cool stuff ahead! Remember to review and let me know what you're thinking.


	9. Nine: Flickering

"Lils," James said leaning up against the bathroom door, "your hair looks completely ravishing."

Lily stood in front of the large mirror and continued to push her hair to one side of her face; she huffed numerous times and grabbed at her hair brush. Auburn strands fell into her face hiding one of her eyes while the rest seemed to flawlessly fall down her back. She was wearing a black, close-fitting blouse—one that James liked in particular. The front came down to a low v-shape as well as the back, giving him a lovely view of her chest and shoulder blades.

"I can't get it to cooperate," she jeered adding a few more vicious strokes with her hair brush. She looked at James's reflection in the mirror, "At least we're not late this time."

He chuckled, "Yes, we are fortunate enough for you to have hair issues ahead of our schedule."

"I know you enjoy watching me, anyways."

She was right, James could stand there and watch her all day of every day; however, they agreed to meet the Order in less than one hour and the two needed to get a move on.

"We do have a meeting," James smirked and checked his watch again, "and you know how Moody hates us to miss his dinner invitations." James walked up and took Lily's hair brush from her hand, "Besides, the sooner we get there—the sooner we can leave." He winked and sat her brush on the vanity.

She frowned, "You know I just don't feel right unless I like my hair."

He wrapped his arms around her, "I know. I think you look spectacular, already."

She smiled lightly and turned to face him. Lily stood a head shorter than James and she seemed to fit into his body, she tucked her head under his chin and his hands fell comfortably to her waist. "You're right." She looked up. "I guess we could always come back here and relax together."

"Relax?" James asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," said Lily slowly pulling out of his reach, "relaxing and maybe a little physical activity." She was teasing him and he loved it.

James followed her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. To his displeasure, she went straight towards her box of jewelry as usual. "I bet Moody will want to keep us there all night."

She rummaged through a few small drawers and pulled out a few pairs of earrings, "He better not, we've already spent too much time with him this week." She maneuvered her long locks behind her ears as she tried on the different pairs. James, feeling frustrated, launched himself onto his bed and buried his face into the pillows.

"Which one?" Lily asked wearing a different earring in each ear. She turned around in her chair and shook her head gently, getting the earrings to shine in their own light.

"The left one," James mumbled from underneath the pillow.

She huffed, "You didn't even look." She heard his muffled laugh and turned around. She chose the right earring and put its twin in her other ear.

James's head popped up, his hair even more of a mess, "Are you done yet?"

She nodded, "I guess so."

He jumped to his feet and met her at the bedroom door. Lily followed James downstairs and into the parlor where her black jacket waited for her. "So, are we going to apparate straight there, or should we floo?"

Just as she went to grab the coat, James's arm shot out and grabbed her wrist. He wrenched her wrist towards his own body and they almost fell into the next room. The parlor was lit by a small lamp while the room they were in now was pitch black.

"James," exclaimed Lily, nursing her wrist that stung a little.

"Ssh," he spat harshly, frightening her. Not only were they in a small, black room, Lily had no idea what would make him act this way. She looked at James and tried to figure out what would make him so tense, he stood in the darkness in front of her towards the parlor. He had backed her up to a wall, shielding her from something.

She grabbed his arm roughly, almost digging her nails into his skin, she felt a cold chill run up her spine and the temperature around them plummeted. He backed her into the wall further, her chest was up against his back and she could barely see around him into the parlor, where his eyes had been fixed the entire time.

The lamp's light began to flicker on and off rapidly.

OOoooooo

Sorry guys, i really wanted to get this part out there. so sorry for the cliff hanger! remember to review!


	10. Ten: Trapped: Thrice

The lamp's light began to flicker on and off rapidly.

Lily sucked in a quick breath and didn't let it out. She could feel James's chest rise and fall very slowly while seeing a cloud of mist for his breath. Gooseflesh erupted over her arms and legs, she suddenly felt nauseas and dizzy.

James had reached around with one arm to grab at Lily's blouse, clutching a fist full of the material and pulling her closer to his back. The lamp flickered to a final black and only the moonlight illuminated the parlor. A blue haze and shadows encompassed everything; both James and Lily took out their wands.

A black figure drifted into the doorway from the left. The air was heavy and ice cold. Lily and James stood absolutely still, not breathing. The doorway filled with the silhouette of the shadowy figure. It seemed to stall and slow down to a deathly crawl across the threshold. Lily and James stood against a dementor.

The thing itself skimmed over the tiny room they remained hidden in and continued off to the right. It didn't walk, it floated. Lily felt her mouth hang open as she peered around James's shoulder, still clinging onto his arm in a vice-like grip. Her head felt light and vertigo took over her body. James steadied her with his arm and took a step forward. Lily clung to him desperately, begging him not to move with her eyes. The creature could hear him, hover over him and suck out his soul before she could blink an eyelash.

James leaned his torso forward to peek outside of their blackened sanctuary. The dementor had left the room. A large grandfather clock in the next room began to chime. One, two chimes. James leaned back into the room and whispered, "We need to floo out of here, now." The third chime.

At that moment, with a great rush of chilled air, another dementor flew from around the corner and attacked. Lily screamed in shock while James yelled, "Expecto Patronum!" The fourth chime.

A white deer erupted from the tip of his mahogany wand along with a blinding white light. The fifth chime. Next thing Lily knew, James had pulled her out of the room and yanked her by the arm upstairs. Sixth, seventh, eighth chime.

"Come on," he yelled as they stumbled up the steps, "we have to go! Come on!" The ninth chime.

They climbed to the top of the landing and rounded the corner into James's bedroom. They ran to the front of his fireplace, each grabbing a handful of floo powder. Before they could even think about where to go, a green fireball exploded from the hearth. The power from the heat and wind blew them both backwards onto the floor.

Lily heard James scramble to his feet and she looked up to see Lord Voldemort and two other Death Eaters standing in James's room.

"James Potter," said a harsh, yet sultry voice, "fancy meeting you here."

James bent over and grabbed at Lily who still lingered on the floor. Voldemort took a single step towards the younger couple, holding his hands together, and no wand in sight.

"And Miss Lily Evans." He laughed quietly, "I had a sense you would be here."

James had Lily to her feet; he felt her shaking slightly and breathing hastily. He brought up all the courage he had and tried to sound confident and strong, "What are you doing in my house?"

Voldemort tilted his head to one side, "I simply wanted to talk with you, James. Although, I do find this amusing: This is our third meeting and this time, I found you. I am quite proud of myself."

Lily's eyes moved from each man, one by one and back again. She noticed that the two hooded-wizards behind Voldemort had their wands out and held their heads slightly down, shielding their faces from view. She held her wand painfully tense and shook her bangs from her eyes.

"Get out." James's voice was just as harsh and bold in return. Lily took a quick glance and saw him standing tall and squared off with the Dark Lord.

"James, I am here to offer you a gift." One of the Death Eaters shifted his weight; Lily jumped and almost cursed him on the spot. "I observed your particular skills last night at the Mason home, and I couldn't help but think you would be better off under someone else's direction." Voldemort took another step towards them.

James and Lily stood their ground. Lily kept looking from the two Death Eaters; perhaps their mannerisms would pinpoint who they were. Crabbe had a specific golden colored wand, Lestrange was significantly shorter than the rest, and even Rookwood walked with a limp from recent events. These two were not like the other amateurs.

"Mister Potter, as you already know, your lifestyle is one that I do not agree with." Voldemort continued while James clenched his back teeth together. "Your allegiance with the Order of the Phoenix and fornicating with mudbloods—I just can't understand you." Neither Lily nor James moved an inch. "You are from an outstanding pure blood family and have true talents. I think," he said taking a deep breath, "you should take your proper place and side with my team."

Voldemort continued, speaking towards Lily, "In fact, Miss Evans, I took notice of you as well last night. You see, for a mudblood, you are terribly clever." James looked from Lily and then to Voldemort who had taken another step towards her; James hated the way the Dark Lord looked at her. "Miss Evans, typically, I would not waste my time with someone of your stature." He smirked down at her, "However, I am feeling somewhat generous this evening, and one of my Death Eaters has nothing but dazzling things to say about you."

One of the Death Eaters had taken advances on either side of Lily and James. One of the men was rather large and breathed heavily like a smoker. The man that inched his way towards Lily's side was around James's height with a slighter build.

"You see, Lily, now that I fully comprehend the relationship that you two share, I cannot simply walk away from it. The only absolution that I can give is to have you join me." Voldemort was now too close to Lily, in James's opinion. A mere few feet separated them; James was hesitant to advance farther.

"A wizard of pureblood pedigree having a relationship—and a physical relationship at that—with a mudblood cannot be allowed." Voldemort looked to James, who had pure hatred etched in his features. "So sorry, but I cannot let your bloodline run out or be tainted. You must understand, James, I am doing this for the future of our world." James saw Voldemort raise his hand and outstretch it in Lily's direction. James went to raise his wand but was hit in the back with a disarming spell, sending him falling to the floor.

He heard Lily call out his name in alarm. Seeing his wand lying on the other side of the room, James soon regained his footing and saw Voldemort had closed the gap between him and Lily, disarming her as well. He had a lock of her hair in his fingers and was whispering something in her ear. She closed her eyes and whimpered away from him.

"I can see, Mister Potter," Voldemort sighed, "that you don't quite see my point of view yet."

James was grabbed from behind by the brawny Death Eater and found a wand pointed at his ribcage. Voldemort took an even more firm hold on Lily, putting his arm around her shoulders and another hand around her neck. He must have squeezed her throat because Lily began to panic and grab at the man's arms. James struggled against the man holding him and was hit in the ribs with a cruciatus curse. James fell in agony to the floor, trying to hold in his screams. He felt his body twitching.

"Easy, Potter," said the Dark Lord, his voice echoing through the fog in James's head from the pain, "I just wanted to add a little more persuasion to the situation. I think I know what will get you going, James."

James was dragged up again. The two Death Eaters had removed their hoods and James recognized Aaron Travers behind him, a large Slytherin, six years his senior, and behind Lily and Voldemort stood Lucius Malfoy.

James was gasping for air; his lungs felt as if they were on fire. "You see, James, I can understand if you just want to fool around while you're young," said Voldemort running his hand along one of Lily's exposed collar bones, "but you should really consider your options."

James saw one of Voldemort's long white fingers caress Lily's skin and fall down her chest to her breasts. "Lucius, would you mind showing Potter how mudbloods, like Miss Evans here, will be treated by Death Eaters in the future?"

OOOooo

Ok, folks. Here's another chapter for ya! Again, I know, I have to leave you with an abrupt end to this one; however, there will be more fun ahead soon. Unfortunately, I am starting up with school for the summer and I won't have as much free time to write.

Hang in there! –Aksarben

P.S. lovefrog159, ., and Kacey O, I am SO sorry. I know you hate cliffs, but it's necessary for this one! I promise!


	11. Eleven: Fighting

James was gasping for air; his lungs felt as if they were on fire. "You see, James, I can understand if you just want to fool around while you're young," said Voldemort running his hand along one of Lily's exposed collar bones, "but you should really consider your options."

James saw one of Voldemort's long white fingers caress Lily's skin and fall down her chest to her breasts. "Lucius, would you mind showing Potter how mudbloods, like Miss Evans here, will be treated by Death Eaters in the future?"

James struggled for breath, "Leave her out of this!"

Voldemort took his hands from her and let Lucius take over his position. James was infuriated. Lucius captured Lily's throat in one hand.

"James, she is a part of this problem. Either you both join me or I will kill her and then kill you." Voldemort had walked to where James kneeled on the floor and bent down to his eye level. Lucius took Lily's arm and twisted it painfully behind her back making her spine arch backwards. "I figured that I would have around thirty minutes with you both before your friends came looking. That will be plenty of time to . . . persuade you." He looked back, "Lucius continue."

Malfoy toward over Lily and shoved her into the wall, hitting her head. She fought back and landed an elbow to his face forcing him to release her neck. Malfoy staggered backwards holding his jaw, Lily advanced on him.

"Crucio!"

She fell to the ground screaming in pain, clutching at her stomach. Voldemort kept his wand trained on her convulsing form.

"No, stop!" James tried to shake off Travers's grip on his arms to no avail. Lily's screams echoed throughout the room. His wand was clear on the other side of the room but Lily's lay just a few meters beyond his reach.

Voldemort lowered his wand and Lily's body instantly relaxed. She let her head fall to the ground with a thud, and tried to fill her lungs with air. Her entire body felt weak and she couldn't get her eyes to focus. Every muscle in her body ached.

"Lucius," Voldemort said straightening his posture, "is the mudblood too much for you to handle?"

Malfoy salvaged his thoughts and pounced on Lily, pinning her arms above her head.

"Touch her and die, Malfoy!" James yelled, lunging forward. He and Travers moved a ways forward.

"Please, Potter," Malfoy sneered, "I'm already touching her." He ran his hand down the front of her blouse, skimming over her chest and abdomen.

"Uh, you son of a bitch!" Lily yelled into Malfoy's face that was a measly six inches from hers. Lucius straddled her hips and held her wrists in one hand. Her body was shaking desperately trying to knock him off or throw off his balance; she was too weak.

"What will you have Potter?" Voldemort asked gesturing to Malfoy and Lily, "Her tortured and killed? I can offer you both a position with me; I would not be forced to kill you two. Look at her face, James."

Lily yelped in pain as Malfoy pushed her head to the side. James saw absolute terror in her eyes. He did a good job of hiding her fear behind her hatred for Malfoy; however, James knew how much she feared the physical touch of a Death Eater.

"Do her a favor and decide quickly." Voldemort took another deep breath, "I don't think Lucius will continue to be tender and placid. I've trained my soldiers to see mudbloods as substandard. And mudblood women—lower than that." Lily's head was still being forced to the side straining the muscles in her throat.

"I—what do you want me to do?" James choked out seeing Lucius bend down his head, stare him straight in the eyes, and lick the exposed side of Lily's neck. James spat out, "What do you want?"

Voldemort stared at James, "Pledge your allegiance to me."

"Fine," James felt helpless, "I'll do it. Just leave her out of this."

"No," Voldemort was losing his patience, "You both pledge your allegiance and I will let you see daylight again." The volume of his voice rose, "If you refuse, I will kill her."

"James, don't—"

"I'll join you!" James was at his wits end. What else did Voldemort want him to say? "I'll do it!"

The Dark Lord turned to Lucius and Lily, "What about you Miss Evans?" Lucius, still bent over her body, nipped at the delicate skin of her neck. An eerie smile crept across Voldemort's face, "Join me, or I will kill you both."

Her eyes were closed due to Malfoy's sinister ministrations, and she did not answer.

"Evans!" Voldemort bellowed. He stalked over and kneeled next to her, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face. "Look at me, love." Reluctantly, she opened her once sparkling green eyes to see two blood red orbs staring back. His eyes alone almost silenced her permanently. "Do you refuse me?"

Lucius added more weight onto her stomach, she gasped, "No, I'll do it."

"Excellent." The Dark Lord looked to Lucius and back to Travers, he nodded. "I think we'll start with Miss Evans, here."

It was James's turn to panic, now. He knew just what Voldemort was going to do. He was going to brand Lily's arm with the Dark Mark and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "Lily," he cried, not knowing how to comfort her.

Malfoy shifted his weight to hold Lily's right arm while Voldemort took Lily's left arm and rolled up her sleeve to reveal her forearm. It was then that she realized what they were about to do to her. She thrashed around, wildly twisting her hips and kicking her legs.

James was still being held by Travers, a small step away from Lily's abandoned wand.

Voldemort held her arm still, took his wand in hand, and placed the tip to a small blue vein on her arm. "I'm afraid that this is going to sting a bit, love."

James heard Lily whimper his name and almost lost all control over his mind.


	12. Twelve: Safety

James was still being held by Travers, a small step away from Lily's abandoned wand.

Voldemort held her arm still, took his wand in hand, and placed the tip to a small blue vein running from her wrist to her elbow. "I'm afraid that this is going to sting a bit, love."

James heard Lily whimper his name and almost lost all control over his mind.

The Dark Lord bowed his head, closed his eyes, and began to whisper something inaudible from James's distance. Lily's eyes were wide as she still strained against Malfoy. The small murmurs from Voldemort ceased ad nothing happened. James held his breath, the room was deathly still. There was a heaviness that descended from the ceiling. A second went by and then a horrible noise was pushed from Lily's throat, a scream reserved for animals in the wild. She arched her back off the floor and tensed up every muscle in her body. He had to get to her. Help her.

James reacted instantaneously. With all the strength and will he had left, he stretched out his arm, and wrenched himself and Travers forward with a loud grunt. James's hand clutched the tip of Lily's wand and pulled it into himself aiming towards Lily, Malfoy, and Voldemort saying the first spell that came to his mind.

"Expeliarmus!"

An explosion of black flames erupted from Voldemort's wand. Malfoy fell backwards shielding his face and chest with his arms. Travers rolled off of James clutching his own wand, aiming at James and then to the horrible, pitch black fire. The flames spread all across the room in a thunderous blaze leaving black smoke and grey and blue flashes of light. Cries from the Death Eaters were in all directions while Voldemort yelled, "Kill them. Kill them both!"

James scrambled to his feet and desperately looked for Lily. The thick black smoke made the room impossible to get around in.

"James!" Lily's frantic cry barely rang over the roaring fire. James got down to his knees searching towards her voice and there he saw her. She was huddled next to the bedroom's entrance. He ran to her, ignoring the thick black smoke filling his lungs.

"Kill them, now!"

James fell into her. She crawled around the door frame and into the hallway allowing James to pull himself out of the room. Voldemort screamed while the thumping and jostling of Malfoy and Travers scuttled around the room. A blue light pierced the smoke and into the hall: Voldemort had put the fire out directly. Lily and James had only a thin layer of smoke left for cover. They ran as fast as they could downstairs.

Not even bothering to be quiet, they sprinted across the hallway and down the long staircase. They stumbled down the steps, James pulling her along and glancing behind them. He saw Voldemort's tall form appear in the hallway behind them. Lily looked back instantly, seeing the look in James's eyes.

She gasped loudly almost throwing herself down the stairs; her firm grasp on the banister allowed her to get to the bottom. They both saw Voldemort approach the staircase and take aim with his wand.

"Go!" James cried literally shoving Lily around a corner and into the sitting room. A thin jet of bright green light hit a portrait on James's wall, knocking it from its post and into hundreds of pieces. James ran to the fireplace.

Lily already had floo powder in hand. He skidded into the stone wall and she grabbed a fistful of his shirt. The next thing he knew, they were surrounded by the green flames of the floo network.

Lily lost her balanced as they reached their destination. They fell hard onto Moody's sitting room carpet. Every member of the Order was in the room.

"James!"

"Lily-"

"What happened?"

"Lils, you're bleeding!"

Lily rolled onto her back. What a sight she was- black soot on her knees and arms, blood and burns on her forearm. She looked to James briefly making sure he was alive and breathing. Sirius and Kingsley were already helping him to his feet; James was gasping for air and coughing. She didn't realize that Moody was holding her numb forearm until Marlene McKinnon leaned over her face.

"Lily," Marlene gasped, "What happened?" Marlene held Lily's face with a mother's gentle grace. Marlene's eyes were concerned as they scanned down Lily's arm. "Lils, you're hurt. Who did this?"

Lily was so relieved to be surrounded by friends, she couldn't speak. More faces appeared, the entire Order—Frank and Alice Longbottom, Remus, Dorcas Meadows, among many others. She heard James yelling to Sirius and the rest of the group.

"Voldemort tried to mark us!"

"He—He what?" Sirius was in shock squaring off with James forcing him into an arm chair. Even Marlene's attention went to Sirius and James who stood by the opposite wall.

James was careful to enunciate his words, "Voldemort, came to my house. He tried to put the Dark Mark on Lily and threatened to kill us both if we refused!"

The chaos fell silent as all members looked to James and then to Mad Eye.

"Close the floo and owl Dumbledore. Now!"

Marlene and Mad Eyed Moody tended to Lily's arm. The Dark Mark had almost penetrated her skin leaving a long cut and scorch marks where Voldemort's wand did the most damage. She winced when Dorcas Meadows appeared and poured orange goo all down her forearm.

Dumbledore arrived soon after their call. He advised Mad Eye on how to treat Lily's burns. He had seen it before. Now, Dumbledore conversed with James in the next room. James went through the night three times, slowly—not missing one detail.

"James," Dumbledore removed his glasses and rubbed his eye lids, "Now, you already know."

James was tired; he slumped in the stiff wooden chair.

Dumbledore continued, sighing heavily, "You and Miss Evans are no longer safe."

Lily looked back to Dorcas. Their eyes met. Dorcas's were no longer concerned, but saddened. Mad Eye and Marlene went to sit next to James and the others.

"I'm alright," said Lily.

Dorcas looked back down to Lily's arm which she was wrapping, "No, you're not." She shook her head and looked back to her, "He knows your name, your lineage, your—" she looked to James and paused.

"None of us are safe." Lily sat up straighter, finishing her bandages by herself. Dorcas's lithe hands were still outstretched and Lily saw a glittering diamond upon her left hand. "Dor, you have a family. You shouldn't be here."

Dorcas gave a weak smile, "My family, is my entire reason for being here. When I graduated, I thought of nothing other than having a family. I thought- in my adolescent stupor- a family would be a new change; something to look forward to." Her voice trailed off, "Its only now that I—I realize they are my world."

Lily whispered, "You're from a descent pureblood family. Your children are purebloods." She glanced around the room at James, Sirius, Alice and Frank Longbottom. "Why are you here?"

She gave a light smile, "You still can't understand?" Dorcas grabbed a nearby chair and scooted it closer to Lily's. Now at eye level, "Lily, this war will be the deciding factor." She peered out a distant window into the night. "This war is everything. Voldemort will stop at nothing. You know this. I remember when you, James, Remus, Sirius, and Marlene were inducted. I saw the looks in your eyes. You were angry."

"We weren't angry."

"Yes, you were. A few of you still are." Looking back to Lily, "There will come a time, Lily, when you will appreciate that hatred does not win wars like these." She brought her hand to Lily's face, rubbing a line of black soot from her cheek. "You're so young."

"Nearly two years younger is not that large of a gap, Dorcas."

In the other room, Dumbledore slowly stood up placing a hand on James's shoulder. "Please, do not give him any more reason to have interest in you."

"But, Sir—" James has gotten to his feet, Sirius at his back.

"James, it's time for us to rethink our strategies." The old man's demeanor had no changed since learning of how intrusive Voldemort had become. "And, time for you to rest. I believe Alastor has a few spare cots in the basement."

Mad Eyed Moody stood up as well, putting down a mug he had been holding, "All right. Black, McKinnon, Longbottoms, follow me. They're rather heavy—"

As the five order members disappeared down the basement staircase, Dumbledore turned to leave. "Oh, and James?"

James, fatigued and pale, looked up.

"We may need to think of another residence for you." He paused, "Perhaps your parent's estate in Godric's Hallow."


	13. Thirteen: Accepting

"I don't even know where to start." Lily sat, cross-legged, on the wood flooring of James's parents home in Godric's Hollow. Her hair was tied back into a loose braid and fell down her neckline falling in front of her shoulder.

"How about eating?" James came around the corner from the sitting room holding a framed picture of his fourth birthday along with his Invisibility cloak.

"Is that all you think about?" She laughed and got to her feet dusting off her pants. "This does call for some serious cleaning, though."

James took a look around the floor, nodding, "Yeah, never did spend much time here." Lily took his cloak and put it around herself making her arms and shoulders disappear.

"When were your parents here?"

"Well," said James, smiling at her half-visible frame, "this was one of their vacation spots."

She let the cloak swish around her feet. "Vacation? Here?"

"Not exactly The Virgin Islands is it?"

She laughed, "No."

"My parents told me that this spot was their getaway; their place to get away from work and all. It's been in the family for ages."

Lily nodded. She could see the tranquility of the home. Godric's Hollow was a smaller town than Lily was used to; a quiet road ran outside the house and the neighbors were all in their later years of life.

James wrapped his arms around her waist, starting to sway from side to side. "Fancy a walk? Minus the cloak, of course."

"Of course," she said wrapping the cloak into a ball and handing it back to him, "An Invisibility cloak might get the muggles talking."

OOOOOOOOooooooooo

"I can't keep waiting for you."

Her heart was breaking; he could hear it in her voice. Her light brown irises were lined with pink.

"I've met someone else." Marlene took a breath, steadying herself. "He's brilliant, funny, and charming—"

Sirius stood up from his seat. "Ah, he's an ace then."

"Siri, I still want you. I am trying so hard to make you see me. All you see is this stupid war and the bloody Order!"

"Marlene, stop." This was not the right time to have his patience tested.

She raised the volume in her voice, "Sirius, when are you going to start building your own life?"

"People are dying," he said, "Just this morning Hagrid reported hearing whispers of muggle disappearances. Dumbledore found out that five muggle-wizard officials have gone missing. Five! They can't protect themselves any longer! Voldemort will keep going until—well, until he wins."

"I'm not saying to abandon the—"

Sirius felt his whole body tense up and adrenaline pumping through his veins. "I can't discard the Order's efforts. We are the only thing standing between Voldemort and what he plans to do. He's going to keep killing, keep recruiting, keep… destroying everything."

Marlene's shoulders fell and her chest began to rise and fall more desperately. "I want you to be invested in my life, not Voldemort's." Sirius did not respond. He continued back to his chair and picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet with a main headline, 'Ministry: All is Well'. "Sirius, if you can't see yourself with me then just tell me so."

Unfolding the paper Sirius said quietly, "I can't even see three months down the road, Mar. There is no future unless the Death Eaters are stopped up."

"I see. I'm just a way of passing the time. Shagging and snogging are all you're interested in."

He threw down the paper and stood again, "That's not all it was and you know it!"

"Then you just don't care! You are still stuck at Hogwarts having any girl you want whenever you want. Sirius Black: womanizer. I should have realized. For months you've been so distant."

Sirius rounded on her small figure. "My best mate was almost killed tonight, and you're upset that I'm being distant?"

"My best mate was almost killed, too!" Marlene said, "I see the passion in your eyes for James and Lily and I've never seen that towards me." They stood nose to nose.

"You've found a new one then. Excellent. Great for you." His voice was low and laced with sarcasm.

"Sirius! You are such an arse! You've never given a second thought to me! Its always-the Order this and the Order that—" She reached for the door.

"Go on, then," said Sirius, his voice almost at a scream, "Go, please, have a quaint little family and a charming cottage in the hills somewhere! Don't worry about us!"

She slammed the door shut behind her. Sirius, in a rage he had long forgotten about, ran his fist into the nearby entryway wall. He paused for a second then pushed all the books from a side table onto the floor, papers scattering in every which way. His hatred for Voldemort and frustrations with Marlene had reached a boiling point. The only thing he had left to do was ride. He grabbed the motorbike keys and ran to the garage around the side of the house. James and Lily probably needed help unpackng.

OOOOOOOOoooooo

"This village is ancient." Lily and James casually strolled down a cobblestone walkway lined with multiples of old, brick houses. James had never introduced someone to Godric's Hollow before. "You know, Bowman Wright invented the Snitch here in the fourteenth century."

"Oh, James," said Lily clasping her hands together, "You know how much I love quidditch facts!"

He let out a bark of laughter, "Ha! Was that sarcasm, Miss Evans?"

"Oh, its Miss Evans, now? I was getting used to just plain Evans."

James's arm wound its way up to flank her shoulders. A cool breeze brushed their hair; fall was on its way. The sun was getting lower, being late in the afternoon, and the sun cast a beautiful stream of orange down the road. A small cemetery sat at the end of block surrounded by a picket fence that was missing a few planks here and there.

"Is that—Is that a churchyard?"

James tensed, "Yes."

"Its cute," said Lily walking across the street. "Look, James, it has a kissing gate at the front, that's unique, don't you think? And the church is magnificent."

James stayed a ways behind as she hurried across the street towards the churchyard. She opened the gate and continued in. Sighing, James continued after her, hoping she didn't want to stay long.

The graveyard was very well kept. The grass was short and hedges were sculpted to perfection. Unlike other cemeteries Lily had been in, this one held a charm and attractiveness to it. The headstones were of all different sizes and shapes, the pathways wound around with no clear intention, and small gatherings of flowers huddled on random graves.

James crossed the gate and looked to Lily, seeing which pathway she chose to follow up ahead. He hesitated; she chose the trail he was all too familiar with. With one foot in front of the other he went after her, watching the arrangement of pathway pebbles beneath him.

Lily's eyes were darting all around. She looked at flowers, names, and dates. Some dates she had to raise an eyebrow at: 1415, 1327, even 1287. Her path led her straight to a large maple tree, its overgrown roots actually tipping a large headstone to an odd angle. She walked around the tree being careful not to step on any of the closely packed tombs and then she saw the name 'Potter' scripted in stone. Shocked, she looked back to James who had fallen behind.

He peered around the tree and met her gaze; he knew she had found them by the look in her eyes. He slowly approached her.

"You didn't tell me…." she lost her voice.

"I wasn't quite sure how to bring it up."

James took her hand and guided her off of the main stone pathway. They both passed by the first Potter headstone. 'Charlus Potter: 1899- 1960.' They walked passed four other grave markers, including one labeled Ignotus Peverell, until James took a step to his right and stopped. His parents.

Lily felt a chill on her arms from another light draft. A great sadness came over her as she remembered the same feelings of guilt and sorrow that enclosed her parents' deaths. She looked to James as he turned to her. He gave her a weak smile.

"H-Here we are." He cleared his throat, "They always said that they wanted to be buried here." Lily nodded and gave him a small smile in return. He pointed behind his mother's headstone. "My mother planted that rose bush when I was a child." He paused and took another deep breath, "We never came to take care of it; I mean, water it, prune it. Its done fine all on its own. It grew and grew, following that pathway nicely. I couldn't have my mother anywhere else."

Lily felt water pooling in the bottom of her eyes. She blinked and looked to the sky.

"It is getting late, isn't it?" James said, again wrapping his arm around Lily's shoulders. "We can head back."

"No, we can stay," said Lily, "Its very peaceful here."

Suddenly the calm air around the two was cut as a distant rumbling came closer and closer and louder and louder. The rumbling was to an almost unbearable level when it stopped. James looked behind him towards the sound and grinned.

"Oi ya!" Called a male's voice from the kissing gate. Sirius crossed the threshold and hurried towards Lily and James dodging the tall maple tree. "Saying hello to Mum and Dad?"

James nodded turning around to see Sirius take of his riding helmet. "Yeah, I wanted them to meet Lils."

Sirius smiled widely, "Well, I'm sure they would have accepted her if I gave them my approval. Is that a pub across the way? I've never noticed it. Let's go."

"Rough afternoon, Sirius? Its not even dusk yet." James added.

"It was a bit rough, yeah." The three followed the pathway out.


	14. Fourteen: Legilimency

"James, come in, come in." James entered Professor Dumbledore's office; a new plaque adorned the outside saying 'Headmaster'. Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk on the clear other side of the room. His voice almost echoed. "I'm glad you could see me."

"Sir, exactly, what is this about? Your owl said it was urgent. What's happened?"

"Mister Potter, a trip to my office does not guarantee harsh events, does it?"

James returned a light smile and tilted his head to one side thinking of every jaunt to Professor Dumbledore's office. Minerva McGonagall leading James and Sirius down the long corridor by their ears and throwing them at Dumbledore's feet for setting mice loose in the girls' lavatory, only to have Dumbledore give them a slight punishment and speak about times past.

"I guess it's just routine, Sir."

"Sit." Dumbledore gestured towards the only available arm chair in front of his large oak desk, ornate with carved, organic shapes. James sat, still unnerved by the sudden beckoning. The old professor sat behind the desk, unmoved, watching James intently—the same look after McGonagall would have left the room.

"Sir?" James laughed, asking, "What have I done this time?"

"James, is there something you wish to speak to me about?"

"Sir," said James, more insistently, "What's going on?"

A vague smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. He leaned forward in his chair, "Mr. Black and I had a brief meeting yesterday afternoon. He told me that you had certain plans for your future involving Miss Evans."

James shut his eyes for an instant wanting to murder Sirius. "I should have known."

The old professor's smile widened. "Being a previous lecturer, I would like to know your intentions for our delightful Miss Evans."

James knew for sure he was blushing profusely under Dumbledore's gaze. He shook his head, already contemplating ways to obtain revenge on Sirius. Dumbledore relaxed in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. The old man's intensity had gone down a level, reminding James of how Albus Dumbledore acted before Voldemort's rise. James sighed and decided to just get it over with, "I would like to ask Lily to marry me, Sir."

"How do you think she would reply, James?"

James exhaled, "I, honestly, don't know."

The old man's face fell slightly, "You're not confident?"

"I'm just not-She's been going through a rough time, lately."

Dumbledore showed confusion. "You both have been through more than enough."

"Yes, but,-" James relieved to finally tell someone, "She's been having nightmares again."

Neither man spoke for a few seconds. Albus looked down to the desk and removed his delicate glasses. "James," said Dumbledore, still fixed upon the table, "I need the details of these dreams."

James blurted out, "She barely remembers them." He saw Dumbledore look back up and continued. "Just last night she fell asleep early. She was screaming before I even got to bed myself. I know she had those dreams about her parents while we were here; but, these are different."

"How?"

"She's screaming, Professor." James felt the helplessness all over again, "She just thrashes and even fights me when I go to wake her. And her face—She's terrified."

"James," Dumbledore said, slowly, "How long have these nightmares been going on?"

"Since July," James said, "Since we moved to Godric's Hollow."

Another tense moment went by; James suddenly realized how dark and cold Dumbledore's office could look. Odd gadgets and the dark wooden floors seemed to reflect the madness that surrounded the Order.

"Sir, it doesn't feel right."

"James," Albus replaced his glasses, adjusting them on the bridge of his nose; James had the instinct to do the same, "There have been other muggleborns complaining about dreams recently."

James wanted to get up and approach the newly appointed Headmaster's desk, but restrained himself stood up and rounded the table.

"The other faculty and I have been researching possibilities. We've decided that the coincidence has been too apparent."

James stood from his chair. Dumbledore walked down towards the main landing. "Professor, tell me you've found something."

"Voldemort refined his legilimency skills to alter the dreams of those he wants to torment."

"Legilimency? We barely covered that in Defense. I thought it was strictly used to see events as a third party witness, not make up illusions."

Dumbledore walked to a large clear case to the right of the room. He had a few small vials inside with various labels in Dumbledore's elegant handwriting. Turning back to James, "He is using fabricated visions to upset muggleborns; to distress them; for some reason I'm not sure of yet. Perhaps, fear is his only objective in this case."

"What can we do?" James was frantic. "Sir, I can't see her like that. The things she sees-"

"Hallucinations of mutilated corpses and genocide?" Albus's tone of voice had plunged considerable, as if afraid of someone else to eavesdrop. James looked to the portraits; strange enough, every single picture in the office was empty.

"Yes." James ran a hand through his hair, "She sees me dying. She says, Voldemort kills me in front of her. Not just me—Sirius, Marlene, her sister—"

"Miss Evans has a large heart."

"She does."

"Voldemort seems to know her weaknesses."

"Why is he doing this to her?"

Albus, hurriedly, went back to his desk. "James, he is doing this to all of you."

"Sir, the—"

"Now," Dumbledore had returned to his relaxed posture; his hands folded neatly in front of him, "You were saying earlier. Marriage."

James pulled at the long sleeves of his shirt. "Professor—"

"Albus, James."

"Sir, what can we do?" The thought of Lily reliving the horrible events of the night they were almost branded, her parents dying, or the other Order raids made him sick to his stomach; the thought of Voldemort forcing terrifying images into her mind was simply enraging.

"Talk to her. Be close to her." Dumbledore's chair scraped across the floor as he pushed himself backwards. "Voldemort's strength would be tested if she learned to mentally block him. He has more trouble entering minds that are relaxed compared to those that are constantly worrying. Now, about your thoughts on marriage."

James at a loss for words said, "She's all I've ever wanted."

"You are unsure of her affection for you?"

"No," said James, sounding oddly child-like again, "She's just scared, I think. She keeps bringing up those against mix-blood relationships and anti-muggle parties. Even though, I told her—"

"How do you feel about the anti-muggle parties, James? Or the mix-blood opponents?"

"You know," James inserted, "They're absurd."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Lily has just as much right to things that I do. She has every right to want a normal life, with a good job, a good family. To be quite straightforward, Professor, it angers me to think that there are people out there wanting her to die. She has the greatest heart; the greatest passion for living. I couldn't imagine having one bad thought towards her."

"You do realize that you would be a new mark for these individuals." Albus paused, "If you were to be formally engaged in Miss Evans."

"What are you saying?"

"James, when Miss Evans took her post in London, I knew it was only a matter of time before she came round." James's eyebrows rose up. "I can see the fervor you two have for each other." Dumbledore leaned forward again, pointing a finger into his table, "I need you two to understand the gravity that your marriage would have on our society at this time."

"Sir," interrupted James, "I am fully aware of what our joining will mean to others. Quite frankly, I don't care. And that is the only reason Lils won't commit to me."

OOOOOooooooo

Lily sat in a café; the chilly, fall weather forced her to bring a jacket and wear a long sleeved sweater. To her relief the dark blue sweater helped cover up the remaining scars she had on her left forearm from Voldemort's outrageous visit. She pulled the sleeves down lower to cover the majority of her hands as she sipped at her hot tea. Her sandwich remained half eaten as she listened to her long forgotten friend Jane Dews.

Since she and James spent so much time together, Lily found herself wanting some time away from Godric's Hollow and Sirius's depressing visits always surrounding muggle disappearances. Lily decided to reconnect with Jane, who she hadn't spoken with since the Evans' funerals.

"You are so cute, Lily." Jane clapped her hands together, smiling broadly, "Clearly, you've been well."

"I have," said Lily, "I'm glad to hear about your job promotions. And the announcement of your book was great news."

Jane giggled, tossing her light brown hair over one shoulder, "That was pure luck, I tell you. I had just moved from York when my neighbor turned out to work for a publisher. He was so nice. He just made a few calls; the next thing I knew, I was being published." She laughed again, "Although, he did ask to go out with him."

"That seems about right," said Lily taking a sip from her mug.

"He was very nice."

"You said that already."

"Oh, alright," Jane shrugged, "What about you, Lils?" Jane's food lingered untouched while her attention on Lily never faltered. "Is there anyone in your life?"

Lily did not answer; a simple grin did enough for Jane to squeal in delight.

"Ah, what's his name?" Jane asked as she flipped her hair away from her face again.

Lily shook her head, "You don't know him."

"Did you meet him at school? That—er, what was it? Architecture based?"

"Archeology," said Lily, "and yes, I was paired to study with him while we were in Greece."

"Paired to study, eh? I'm sure you two got a lot of studying done." Another small squeal came from her lips. "I cannot believe that all we have done is talk about me and my boring life. You've been the mysterious one."

Lily laughed at the awkwardness of it all. If only she could tell Jane about Hogwarts, how she met James after he helped flood the girls' lavatory, or how Voldemort tried to kill her only a few weeks prior which led to the throbbing pain in her arm.

"Seriously, now," Jane leaned forward in her chair, "what's his name?"

"James," said Lily, no longer caring, "James Potter."

"He sounds cute." Jane sighed inwardly, "What's he look like?"

Lily paused, never been asked this particular question before, "He's about six foot tall. He's got jet black hair and these mostly hazel eyes, depending when you look at them. He's thin, not lanky, just—"

"Gorgeous."

Lily beamed, "Yeah. It was rocky at first. But something clicked."

"In primary school you showed zero interest in boys."

"Well, they weren't exactly charming at that age, Jane."

The nearby cock chimed twice. Jane jumped and glanced at her wrist. "Oh, no. I've got to get back. I'm so sorry."

"No, no. It's fine. I've got to get back, too. I've got loads of, "she searched her mind, "paperwork to get to."

Jane stood up and immediately went to Lily's chair, hugging her from the odd angle. Lily stood up soon after, Jane still clinging to her shoulders. "Lils," she whispered into her hair, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, Jane."

"Promise, you'll keep in touch." Jane released Lily, holding her at arm's length. "Next, we can go to that sushi bar by your old house. You remember?"

Lily nodded, subconsciously pulling at her sleeves again.

"Ok. And give me some notice. That way I can get it off work. We could have a girls' day. Oh," she said waving, "Be sure to tell Petunia congratulations for me. I saw her add in the marriage notice portion of the paper."

Lily felt as if she had been hit in the face with a brick. "I will," she said as Jane began to distance herself. Her head felt light. She had no idea, Petunia was getting married.

Jane picked up her purse and turned to leave, "Bring James, or Mr. Potter, with you next time. I think I need to meet this one. You sound infatuated."

Lily gave Jane one last radiant smile, picked up her bag, and left the café. Thankful for the excruciating meeting to be done with, she hurriedly walked towards the underground. Jane was Lily's best muggle friend and her last connection to the muggle world. Unfortunately, every time Jane met up with Lily, she had to bring up Petunia—

"Lily!"

She heard her name for a split second and slowed on the street. She was encircled by muggles walking briskly on all sides; her vision was pulled to the dark shadows of an alleyway to her right.

"Lily!"

She heard it again. No one was visible. She kept walking; Voldemort could not have found her here in muggle London. Lily felt her heartbeat quicken, the muscles in her upper body tighten up, and her mind began to race.

A hand grabbed her upper arm. A voice reached her ear. "Lily, I want a word with you."

She spun around and looked up to a long hooked nose and deep, black eyes.


	15. Fifteen: Confessing

"Severus," she gasped and franticly glanced around them. No Death Eaters, no Voldemort, no other magical beings at all. She looked him up and down. He had on a dark brown, muggle jacket, wearing jeans and running shoes. "What are you doing here?"

He said quietly, "I need to talk to you."

"No. I was just heading back."

"Are you, or are you not, living in Godric's Hollow with Potter?" Snape's facial expression was cold as steel. His lips were pursed together and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed in. He was out of his mind to speak of their world while surrounded by muggles.

She decided to whisper very matter-of-factly, "I am." To her surprise not one of the passersby seemed to notice she and Snape had stopped and were having a conversation in the middle of the walkway. She saw Snape's face retract to his familiar stoic sign of acceptance she had seen one too many times while at Hogwarts, face she had grown to love and hate.

He jerked his head over his shoulder in reference to the coffee bar she had just come from, "Come on."

He left her side and took a few steps towards the outdoor café; he turned back to her. It had been completely obvious how she hesitated. She bowed her head, readjusted her fringe, and stalked back towards the bar.

Snape sat down directly where Lily and Jane had just gotten up from. Confident in her coming, he pulled out one of the iron chairs next to him for her to sit in. He watched as she walked through the gate opening and approached his table. She pulled out a chair opposite him and sat down. Frustrated, Snape scraped the iron chair he moved from earlier back to its original position up against the table.

"What do you want, Severus?"

He grinned, "Oh, no. I'm back to Severus." He sat at the café with an arrogant air about him, Lily had never seen. He was relaxed in his seat, leaning backwards with his legs stretched out under the table; he was grinning, not smiling; and was actually peering at the other women in the bar. "I heard you had a visit from the Dark Lord."

Lily was a fraction away from having an outburst. "I did." A woman sitting a few meters away met Snape's gaze and blushed, giggling to a few of her friends. Lily saw him smirk in return. She snapped, "What do you want?"

Snape altered his attention back to the redhead across from him. "You were the one surprising me at my doorstep for information. Now, it's my turn."

"I know nothing that you don't, of course."

"Of course," said Snape, "However, I am interested in hearing about your unique one-on-one visit."

Lily pretended to look around at the décor, even though she had already memorized the furnishings from talking with Jane. She said under her breath, "I don't want to talk about it."

Snape pulled his chair up towards the table and leaned towards her. In a hushed voice, "Tell me what happened."

A few giggles were heard coming from the far table of women; Snape turned to them. Two of the women turned red in the face and one snapped her attention from Snape directly to the other girls, covering her mouth with her hands. Snape, again, returned a cocky grin.

Lily shook her head. She knew what would get Snape's attention. While his eyes were diverted, she put her forearms on the table top and made sure the neckline of her sweater dipped just low enough.

Snape, still wearing the small smirk, turned back to Lily. His grin froze on his face while his eyes bounced once downward to the exposed skin on her chest and back up.

"You know what happened," said Lily in a slow tone, raking her fingers through her long hair.

The haughty air had vanished. "Lily," he said, "The Dark Lord was very upset."

"I'm sure that he was. James and I got away, again."

"Tell me what happened that night."

"Why don't you just ask Voldemort? I'm sure you're at the top of the S.S. by now."

Lily's previous waitress approached her. "Excuse me," she said in a little voice, "Did you need anything to drink? Er, again?"

Lily forced a smile, "No, thank you." Snape shook his head and smiled as well.

As the waitress retreated, Snape chuckled, "S.S.? Potter has given you a sense of humor."

She got closer to him over the table, "That's muggle humor, Sev."

Snape recoiled and got up, confusing her. He took hold of his chair and pulled it to side with Lily's; both their backs were now to the rest of the café.

"What?" Lily twisted her entire form to face his. She hissed again, "What?"

Without words, he gently reached for her arm. She jumped as he touched her. He looked into her eyes with a soft demeanor she hadn't seen since they were fourteen. He pulled her forearm beneath the table, in between them, hidden from view. He began to slowly pull the sleeve up her left arm. She stopped him.

"Don't, Sev."

"Fine," said Snape, bringing his own left forearm under the table's lip, "I'll show you mine." With that, he dropped the coat from his shoulders and pulled his arm out of its sleeve entirely. Neither Snape nor Lily made any grandiose reactions, trying to avoid the muggles surrounding them. However, Lily couldn't help but stare at the Dark Mark outlining his arm. The black ink swirled into the snake and skull design that she had grown to recognize instantly. "I got it when I was seventeen. Not one of us Slytherins really had a choice."

She shook her head again, "You all had a choice."

"I won't refute that." He was startled when she grabbed his left hand and held his arm steady while she traced the tattoo with an index finger. He felt her thoughts change.

"It's so strange." She whispered, "How did we get to this?" She let his arm go. Snape put his arm back into his jacket and hoisted the coat back up onto his shoulders, hanging his head.

"I just told him that you weren't an agitator." Snape kept his voice low, "I never thought he would try to brand you."

"And James?"

"The Dark Lord's been trying to recruit purebloods for the past few months. He says that they are the power he will need later." He sighed, leaning close to her ear, "I never thought he would want you. I—I just wanted him to leave you alone." Snape went for Lily's forearm again; when she refused, he urged, "Lils, just let me look at it." She held her arm tighter in the other's grasp. "Lily, I need to know if I can help it. I've seen the scars that the spell leaves. Just, let me see."

She reluctantly gave him her left forearm, being sure to keep it concealed. Snape gently lifted her sleeve away from the top of her arm and began to pull the material towards her elbow. Snape was careful to watch her face for any discomfort and to watch her skin appear from under the fabric. He was disgusted at what he saw: yellow and purple bruises where he was used to seeing her ivory skin. As he continued to pull her sleeve back he saw two long, wide gashes accompanying the bruises running up to the crook of her arm. He stopped pulling at the sweater and made a sickened face. Although the gashes were protected by magic, they would still leave ugly scars on her perfect arm.

"There is a potion from Saint Mungo's older experiments. It works. You can have the Order investigate and find it under 'Burns' in the archives." Snape gingerly replaced her sleeve, "I didn't think it would be this extensive. The finished result is a dark eggplant color and froths on application." He moved his chair back. "He's unaware of your new location with Potter. But, I can only distract him for so long."

She was skeptical, "You're telling me that no one knows you are here with me right now."

He tilted his head to her, "That is one perk to being top of the S.S. in Voldemort's rankings. I work alone and do what I think is good for the cause." Snape tentatively put his arm on the back of Lily's chair, "I cannot give you long. You… and Potter could have enough time to leave—go somewhere else."

"Leave?"

"I want you to be out of harm's way."

Lily gave Snape a hard, cold look. That look silenced him. "Severus, I don't want any more help from you."

"Lily, I—"

"Severus," she jeered, "I chose James. You chose Voldemort. It's as simple as that. Whatever we had, it's over."

"Lily, please, listen to me—"

She got up and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "Don't." Lily hissed, glaring towards him, "Don't make a scene!"

Snape, watching Lily walk out of the café, got up slowly and pushed in both their chairs. He followed her to the alleyway next to the adjoining building. She was waiting, her arms folded across her chest.

When he got close enough, her voice cracked, "You are the only person I trusted in that world." Snape went closer to her, ignoring the muggles now starting to take notice to them. "What do you want from me?"

"Lils," he said softly, "I never wanted you to get hurt."

She turned her back to the walkway, "I'm just so confused." He went farther into the alley to face her again. She was close to tears, "You weren't there for me when Mom and Dad died. You wouldn't talk to me in school—"

"Lily," he pleaded, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I was young and stupid. I just wanted to—to be accepted." He took a deep breath, steadying himself, "I'm thinking now. I want—I want you. You're so beautiful. You're intelligent and caring, you—"

She looked appalled and her eyes went wide. "Don't, Sev."

"Lils, I know that you're frustrated with me. I know that you're scared; but, listen—I can protect you—"

"Stop it!" Lily held her arms tighter to her body.

"If you keep meddling in this, he's going to—You need to block him from your mind! He can—"

Lily let out a cry of aggravation. "I'm going home! Don't follow me." Lily walked back into the flow of pedestrians on the sidewalk, leaving Snape in the shadows.

OOOOOooooo

James heard the front door click shut. He dropped the shirts he had been unpacking and headed towards the overlook. Leaning over the railing he spotted Lily walking down the hall.

"James?" she called out, entering the kitchen, throwing her bag on the counter.

"I'm coming," James replied heading down the stairs, "How was lunch?" When no answer came, he figured she had immediately gone for the backyard. The shutting of another door confirmed his suspicion. James continued through the kitchen seeing her bag lying lazily and strewn about on the counter, unlike her.

Lily sat uncomfortably on one of the rather large rocks outlining the garden. She drew her knees up to her chest and breathed in the cool fall air.

"Hey," James walked through the newly fallen leaves that crunched under his feet. "How was lunch?"

"Severus found me."

James froze. She looked disconcert; Snape must have upset her. "What did he want?"

"The usual."

He sat down on a small patch of grass next to Lily's rock. "He's in love with you."

She sighed, blowing a piece of her fringe from her face. "He's infuriating."

James let out a bark of laughter, "That's what you used to say about me, remember?" Lily didn't move. They both looked out into the yard. "Weird turn of events, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement."

A sparrow flew from a tree, singing out loud for everyone to hear, and landed on top of the home's fence.

"How was Dumbledore?" asked Lily, finally looking James in the eyes.

"Typical." James laughed again, stretched out on the grass, and leaned back onto his elbows. "Mystical and profound." Lily gave a short snicker as well. James let his head fall back. "He wants to see you tomorrow."

"Me? What did he want from you, anyway?"

"He wanted to discuss Voldemort. He told me to escort you to Hogwarts tomorrow afternoon," James lied so eloquently.

"Alright," said Lily looking back to James, "It's not like we had anything else planned." She smiled as James raised his head. Lily slid down the side of the rock to land by James on the ground. "It is kind of nice here."

"You like it?"

"Yeah. It's calming."

"Good," James sat up, crossing his legs underneath himself, "You know if you wanted to go live with Snape, I don't want to stop you."

Lily scoffed, laying down completely, placing her arms over her face blocking the sun. "Oh, I'm sure Severus would be a very doting boyfriend when not following Voldemort."

James touched her soft auburn locks that fell onto the grass. "Should I be worried about him taking you away from me?"

Lily grinned back, "I don't know. The whole Death Eater lifestyle is very tempting. You know, power and all that."

James remained quiet.

"James," Lily said, reaching up to touch his cheek, "You have no reason to worry."

"I've always wondered what, exactly, you two had." James took her reaching hand in his. "I see the way he looks at you. The way he looked at me after…"

"James, he's not the same person—"

"I was jealous of him," admitted James, "While at school, he always had your attention, even when he didn't want it."

Lily, concerned, squeezed his hand.

"All I wanted was for you to look at me, the way you looked at him." He said with a slight smile, "You do now and I've never been happier, Lils."

"James," whispered Lily, "I never felt for him the way that I feel for you. I've never felt like this for anyone."

James took a deep breath and looked to the sky, "It's scary: these feelings. You know, it's weird how the war takes a second place to the way I feel for you."

She nodded and smiled, "I know. I just hope I can trust these feelings. I felt so betrayed by him."

"No one should feel betrayed by one of their friends. Just know that you can trust me." A few precious moments passed by as James began to think deeply about the next day's events. James put his arm around her, "Snape really missed out, you know."


	16. Sixteen: Daydream

"I swear, Slughorn wants us all to fail out," said Lily staring at a length of parchment that rolled off her study table and onto the floor.

James peered over the edge of his growing pile of notes, "I'm starting to agree with you. Well, I think Slughorn wants you to fail; just so he could keep you another year."

"You're not in potions. What are you working on?" Lily huffed, snapping her quill down.

"Nothing," replied James, his quiet demeanor a strange transformation for Lily. James usually could not resist adding a few arrogant remarks or throwing wadded up parchment at her face.

"Nothing?" Lily said standing up, stretching her legs. "You've had your head buried the entire night. What are you working on?"

James didn't say a word. Lily took the initiative and walked straight to his desk peering over his shoulder. He saw her and jumped, covering the writings he had done, "No!"

"What are you writing?" She reached and snatched up one of his papers. Reading it she said with surprise, "Aeronautics and Gravity Gradiometry?"

"It's for McGonagall's class."

"She's letting you write about quidditch for our transfiguration final?"

James stood up with her, "She said that my marks were already top and that I should write about something I care about." He took the parchment from Lily's grasp, "That was my introductory portion, if you don't mind."

She smirked. "Alright." As James returned to his seat, Lily decided to join him at his table sitting very close to his left side, looking over his shoulder. "How is it that you're so fantastic at transfiguration?" James stiffened. "Did you study it previously at home?"

He hesitated, thinking fast, "I've studied it previously, yes."

She eyed him questioningly before shrugging her shoulders, "I wish I had. It would be nice to be great at everything I tried."

"I'm not great at everything I try, Miss Evans."

"You sure seem like it." She laughed, "That is what all the girls here say about you."

"They know nothing about me. They think they do." James went back to writing his final.

"You're very mysterious, Potter." Lily leaned back into her chair, "More so than I thought."

He smiled while scratching with his quill, "Is that a good or bad thing?"

"I'm not sure." She leaned forward resting her arms on the desk, "I had you pinned down, before, as one person. Now, I'm not quite sure."

James's quill stopped in mid-swoop and he looked up to her through his glasses that had been reflecting the orange fire on the far side of the room. "Lily, if it makes you feel better, I figured you to be someone else as well."

She nodded, looking at the wooden details of the school table, she started to follow the grains with her fingers. "You were so persistent on asking me out. I got rather annoyed with you. Then, being Head Boy, I almost went crazy thinking about how you would be all year."

"I bet it was as much of a shock to you as it was to me." James sat down his quill and rolled all his parchment up, tucking it inside a bag on the floor next to his feet.

Lily laughed again, "I always thought you would constantly be pranking with Sirius and snogging girls at parties."

James laughed too, "All year? What? You thought I would be having girls over here and you would wake up to find Sirius passed out on the sofa holding a bottle of Firewhiskey?" He ran a hand through his hair, "Sorry to disappoint you, but Sirius and I stopped those dimwitted partying antics last year."

"Too bad," she snickered. The thought of Sirius passed out on the sofa had Lily almost in tears. She regained her poise from earlier, "Really, though. I'm pleased to be working with someone like you." She quickly added, "A responsible person."

James's face suddenly got solemn, "How are you doing?"

Lily shook her head, "With what?"

His body shifted and his eyes diverted to the roaring fire behind her. "I never really checked to see how things were going at home; with all those recent muggle attacks."

"Fine," she lied, "The attacks haven't been anywhere close to my parents' home. And Dumbledore says the Death Eaters have no way of finding them."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"What about how you're doing?" he asked; he seemed tense.

"I'm fine."

James nodded and changed the subject. "I've been wanting to talk to you like this."

"We talk all the time, James." She began to play with his abandoned quill, rolling it from side to side. "We talk on patrols, while at breakfast, after your practices—"

"I like talking to you about everything." He squared off his body to hers. "I've always wondered something."

"What's that?" she asked softly.

He asked quietly, "May I touch you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I just want to touch you," he said slowly raising his hand. Lily couldn't bring herself to move towards him; however, James let his hand gently fall to touch her arm that topped the table. His touch was cold, but soon warmed up. He smiled.

"What?" Lily asked again, this time smiling in return.

James let out a childish giggle, holding back a nervous laugh, "I've never touched you before."

"You're joking. We've touched." Lily felt a cold rush go up her spine and gooseflesh erupt all over her legs.

"Not like this." The usual cocky tone in his voice had left and was replaced with a more cautious, matter-of-fact approach. He lifted his palm from her forearm and began to wave it over her porcelain skin. With slow and sure movements his hand went up her arm to her shoulder and back down.

"James, you're so different, than I remember."

Their noses were almost touching. James could see the delicate texture of her skin and noticed that she did, in fact, have a light dusting of freckles on her chest. He looked up and was startled to see the magnificence of her eyes up close. Not only were her eye an emerald green; there were rays of neon being pulled into her pupils. Her elegant, long eyelashes that fanned out at the corners encased irises holding a genuine aurora borealis. The only part to tear his gaze away from her beautiful eyes was her lips parting slightly.

Her voice was smooth and calming to him, "You've changed."

"Maybe," James breathed. He was surprised breath was coming out of his lungs at all. He couldn't remember the last time his stomach had the unique tingling sensation or the last time his mind had completely shut off. He stared, seeing the deep red shape of lipstick from earlier fading on the edge of her bottom lip. "I've done a lot of thinking."

She could feel the warmth of his body sinking into her arm; it made her weak, wanting to melt. "Thinking?"

"About how I've acted." James had his head hanging as he spoke. "I want my parents to be proud of me." James put a hand cautiously to the side of her head, brushing her curls behind her shoulder eloquently. "I wanted you to see me, for who I am. Not how I've acted in the past."

Lily saw the geniality and sincerity in his eyes. She felt his touch and knew how authentic he was; there was no question.

"I couldn't go another year," he said licking his lips and taking a deep breath, "With you not knowing who I really am—who I've become."

It took no more words. Lily closed the fissure between them.

James could not believe what had happened. His first instinct was to jump backwards, falling from his seat and onto the floor; however, he decided to face this fantasy head on. He felt his lips kiss hers back and his hand crept into her hair for a second time. He felt her kiss push back on him gently and then depart.

Lily sat back and looked at him with an apprehensive appearance.

James wasn't sure what to say. He opened his mouth and then quickly shut it, swallowing and blinking anxiously. It was only when she smiled and blushed that he began to breathe again.

She went to say something; an apology or explanation; but stopped herself short seeing the look in James's eyes as he motioned for her to come back to him.

"What are you thinking about?" James asked reading over his notes from the previous Order meeting.

Lily smiled, blinking away the daydream. "Nothing in particular." She glanced at a clock that hung over the kitchen sink, "When are we heading to see Dumbledore?"

"In a few minutes. I wanted to show you something before we met him." James ran a hand through his hair and got up from the kitchen table at their new home in Godric's Hallow; a home they were still getting used to.

"Oh really? What something is this that I have never seen before in seven years at school?" Lily rose an eyebrow at him.

"It's a Marauder secret place." He stood up and placed a kiss to her cheek, "Only Prongs will be able to show you."


	17. Seventeen: Sealing Fate

James tried hard to think about the spell at hand. The Forbidden Forest looked different to hm in the daylight; however, the wood still had an eerie feeling. Birds fell silent as soon as he and Lily arrived while the cool breeze chilled his skin. He looked down and saw that his hands were shaking as he walked; leaves were crunching under his feet; and rays of light were seeping in through the thick brush. He left his wand in his pocket; he had no need for it. Taking one last look around he—

"You done yet?" Lily called out from a few yards away.

Her voice startled him. "If I was done, I wouldn't be able to answer you, darling." He heard her laugh; that sound reassured him to continue. He tilted his head back and filled his lungs with the damp, cool air of the Forbidden Forest and began his transformation.

Lily waited patiently around a tree while James performed his illegal act. She knew good and well that he, Sirius, and Peter had become animagi while at Hogwarts. She had never seen him change into Prongs; however, James informed her that his transformation was nothing special.

_Lily heard the front door open with a crashing bang._

_Peter Pettigrew came running into the Heads' Common Room, sweat covering his body while his face was as pale as new-fallen snow. He stumbled across the entryway staring at Lily on the other side of the room and gasping for breath. She took in his appearance; he was covered in blood. _

"_Peter!" Lily ran to him, "What happened?"_

_He wheezed, "Its not me, its Prongs!" _

"_What?"_

"_Its James!" _

_Before Lily could grab her wand, Sirius fell through the portrait hole. He was holding up James with all the strength he had left, blood dripping from them both. Peter scurried and shut the door behind them promptly after looking briefly out into the hallway. _

_Sirius, weakened, gasped out, "Lily! He's hurt bad!"_

_Peter returned to James and Sirius, lifting one of James arms around his own shoulders to help with the dead weight. Lily heard James let out a horrible cry as Peter moved his arm. Even from the distance that she was to the boys, she saw the deep dark red origin of the blood, now dripping onto the floor, was on James's chest and stomach. _

_Lily ran to the sofa in front of the fire and threw the delicate, decorative pillows to the floor. "Sit him down and get his legs up!"_

_The boys stumbled forward with James's legs barely working underneath him. Sirius steadied James's body with his own and bent down to the couch, having Lily, instinctively, holding James's torso and helping it down to the cushions. Getting Sirius's arms out from under him caused a wrenching pain to course though James. Lily panicked as his cried out again, arching his back off the couch, holding his hands in fists. She went and threw the fallen pillows under his legs, forcing them to rest above his chest. James rolled slightly to his side and one of his ankles fell from the pillows and onto the floor with a 'thud'. _

"_Sirius! Keep his feet up there!" It took all of her capacity to keep her voice at a controlled level. She took her sweater from the armchair nearby and pressed it to James's chest. "What happened?" James grunted again, his eyes fused shut and sweat dripped from his face. _

_Sirius had complete dread in his voice while he looked at the blood covering James's chest, "We were in the forest messing around and something attacked us." _

"_What was it?" Lily asked, lifting the sweater and peering underneath. James had two long gashes cutting deep into his flesh; every time James took a breath the cuts opened up wider and more blood seeped out. "What could do this?"_

"_I don't know," he said; all the blood had drained to his face. Lily hadn't realized that Sirius was cut as well. _

"_Sirius!" she gasped, "You're hurt, too!"_

"_I'm fine! Fix James!"_

"_He needs the Hospital Wing!"_

"_No!" Sirius's eyes were hard and severe, "Heal him, here!"_

"_What were you doing in the forest?" Before Sirius could answer her, she looked for her wand, "Peter!" Peter froze with the look of sheer terror on his face, "Go to my room." She took a calm, deep breath. "I need my wand and the green notebook from my wardrobe." She saw his round form disappear into the darkness of her room. Still holding her grey school sweater to James's chest, she turned back to Sirius. "Sit down, Sirius!" _

_Sirius pulled a small chair from the side of the fire and sat down, his head in his hands. Peter returned carrying a blanket, Lily's wand, and a dark green muggle note pad. Lily grabbed the notebook from Peter's arms and frantically flipped through the pages, leaving red smears of blood over her handwriting. He put the blanket onto the floor next to James with her wand on top. _

"_Sirius," she said, "I need to know what happened!"_

"_I can tell you later!"_

"_Sirius," she snapped, "I cannot heal a wound when I have no idea what caused it!"_

_He lifted his head, "Its claws caught James and I. We came around a corner and—surprised it." _

_She found the particular spell in a mix of potions notes, grabbed her wand, and lifted the cloth from James's wounds. The grey material of her sweater was shiny black with blood. _

_Sirius interjected, "I can heal the cuts, but not the tendon and muscle damage."_

"_I think this will work," Lily said tearing James's blood-soaked shirt open enough to see the entire wound. "It will be painful afterwards, too. He'll need a real healer!"_

"_Lily, just do it, please!"_

_She let out a frustrated grunt and said, "Fine! Don't heal yourself yet!" Sirius had taken out his wand and pointed it to his bleeding shoulder. "Wait a few minutes and I will get a cleaning potion brewed!" She paused, putting a hand to her head. "Peter," she called again, "I need fluxweed and dittany. Do you think you could sneak in to Slughorn's herb storage closet outside his classroom?" Peter nodded and headed to the door; Sirius throwing the Invisibility cloak to him. _

_After a few moments Lily had healed James's right pectoral muscle as well as his diaphragm that had a long tear in it; he instantaneously took in a great gulp of air and opened his eyes. _

While waiting for James on the other side of tree, Lily made up her mind that she wanted to see exactly what happened to James during his transformation. She went to look around the large trunk and came face to face against a stag, a stag with two large, very large, hazel eyes.

"James," she gasped. The stag slightly moved its head down, accentuating its long antlers. She laughed, "Prongs." The large stag was beautiful with its shiny, tan coat and graceful movements. It walked backwards, giving Lily a full view of its sheer size. She followed it into the clearing and put a hand to one of its shoulders feeling the thick fur. He tilted his head downwards, minding the sharp points of his antlers, getting closer to her. She smiled and moved her hand to its neck. She was met, again, with the large hazel eyes that she was all too familiar with. "Well," she inquired, "Where are we going?"

Prongs, slowly, trotted around Lily and pushed against her with his side towards a small pathway. Lily took the initiative and began to slowly walk into the path, dodging low-hanging branches and thick brush. Prongs followed her.

The trail continued a ways until clearing out into a grassy field. Lily stopped in her tracks and put a hand to her mouth at the edge of the meadow. Ahead of them were almost a dozen deer, stags and does alike. Prongs urged her forward again. Every single deer perked up and stared in her direction. Instead of scattering, they continued eating, some does bending their heads completely beneath the tall grass. Prongs continued around Lily and went along the tree line towards a grouping of tall trees.

Lily continued on, still fixed on the grazing deer. The meadow was still and tranquil; the scene was silent with only a few birds chirping in the distance. The sun had begun to go down, leaving a picturesque haze of orange and yellow to cover the wood. The changing colored leaves reflected the fall weather.

She stepped over a fallen tree and trailed Prongs to another smaller clearing where stumps stuck out of the ground like seating around a small fire pit. Lily stepped into the sitting circle, walking passed Prongs. She noticed one of the trees closest to the fire pit was carved into. Four pairs of initials were visible sticking out against the tree's dark brown bark: the Marauders.

"We started to come here in our fifth year." James came through the trees back in his human state. "After we became animagi, we wanted a place to go where we wouldn't have to worry about anyone finding us."

"_James," Lily whispered, "Lie still. You've torn your diaphragm, it'll be painful." She stood up and leaned to James's face. "James, listen to me, you need a healer. I fixed your muscle tissue, but you will need to get everything else looked at. I'm not sure that I can—"_

"_I can't go to a healer, Lils," he whispered, wincing while trying to lift his head up. _

"_We can't go to a healer!" Sirius held the blanket to his shoulder, stunting the blood flow. "We will tell you later. We can get the cleaning potion brewed and—"_

"_I have to make a blood-replenishing potion as well, Sirius." Lily was trying to manage her temper, "He's lost too much blood." _

_Sirius, irritated, kicked over one of James's pile of quidditch books on the floor. "We can't go anywhere!"_

_The Head Dormitory's front entrance was shut as Peter entered the room and took off the Invisibility cloak, holding two vials filled with liquid. He went to Lily and kneeled next to her on the floor, "I could only find the liquid states."_

"_That will do," she said getting up. _

_The tension in the room had calmed once Lily got James's bleeding under control. The boys were lost; not one of them said a single word while Lily brewed the two potions. Peter remained sitting on the floor next to the fire; Sirius sat on an armchair holding the blanket on his still open wound; James was on the couch, trying not to move. The blood-replenishing potion was easy to make and was done almost instantly. After ingesting the potion James acquired more color to his face. _

_Another minute went by and the cleaning potion was ready. Applying the mixture to James's chest and stomach was not as easy as the first potion. James tensed up and cried out as the concoction hit his cuts. The purple potion began to hiss and fume; however, the end result was well worth it. Sirius was not excited to see Lily approach him with the burning potion, but he dropped the blanket and removed his shirt letting Lily apply it to the shallow but long cut on his shoulder and arm. _

_With Sirius fully healed and James on his way, Lily sat down on the vacant window seat. She felt her own body; it was sweaty and clammy, her hair was pulled into a horrendous ponytail, and her skirt and shirt were stained with brown oxidized blood. She brought a hand up to wipe her face, the hand was dirty had the tangy smell of iron. _

"_Sirius," she asked faintly, "What's going on?"_

_Sirius Black lifted his head; he looked tired and frail, unlike the Sirius Lily was used to. He looked her dead in the eye and said, plainly, "James will tell you. Soon. Just trust us."_

_Little did she know, that James would tell her more than she ever thought could have been possible. That he, with Sirius and Peter, transformed into animals in order to help Remus Lupin as he transformed into a werewolf. To her horror, she also found out that Remus was the animal that had almost mauled James to death while he was in his animagus form. _

"Its amazing," she admitted, "I've never seen this side of the forest before." The ground around the circle had been well worn down, but not used recently. She could almost imagine seeing paw and hoof prints around the fire's ashes. She smiled, "Your stag is beautiful."

James blushed, "You get used to it, I guess."

She gestured towards the meadow, "Why didn't they run when they saw us?"

"The herd?" James continued sitting down on one of the stumps, "They saw that you were with me. I always hate disturbing them; if I'm in my animagus form, they don't mind me." He smiled and chuckled, "A few of them approached me at the end on my sixth year. I wasn't quite sure what to do; I wasn't sure how to communicate. But I think they accepted us at least."

Lily walked closer to the imprinted tree. "This is your spot, then?"

James nodded. "This was our base point. We would meet here after Moony—well Remus—was finished. He would need some solitude and we couldn't go back to school at four in the morning. We would just stay here." Lily ran her fingers over the bark and into the carvings. "I came here when I needed space to think." He laughed, "I thought about everything from quidditch, to school, to my parents, to you—"

She smirked, "You were obsessive about me, Mister Potter."

"I was," he said, "You were the most beautiful girl in school. You're intelligent and capable, you've got a fiery attitude, and you don't let people walk all over you. You were—are so different from the others." He admitted, "I could not take my eyes off of you."

She wondered, "What was going through your mind? That night Voldemort found us."

James adjusted his glasses. He paused and shook his head, "It happened so fast." The sun sunk farther into the forest, the light casted harsh shadows going every which direction from the various foliage. His throat felt tight, "I thought, that was it. For us."

Lily sank onto one of the stumps, "I thought we were dead. I already accepted it."

"It was close." James shuffled his feet in the dirt and few leaves on the ground. "When he went to brand you," James inhaled and rubbed the back of his neck, "I thought I was going to lose you." She bowed her head. "I never want to feel that, ever again."

"I saw the look in your eyes when Malfoy was taunting you." She rested her elbows on her knees. "You looked so—not angry, but just—defeated. I've never seen you like that before."

James, defensively, "He was touching you. I couldn't stop him. I didn't realize Voldemort would try to persuade me by threatening to beat and molest my girlfriend in front of me." He ran both hands over his hair, "There's no honor in that. I didn't know what to do."

"That night Moony clipped you," Lily began, "For a moment, I thought—You had lost so much blood and you wouldn't get help." She chipped a piece of the stump off and toyed with it in her hands, "I had no idea you three put yourselves through that. You could have died."

"We thought we were invincible." James began to pick at his stump's bark as well. "It was on nights like those where we were brought back to reality. Begin able to transform into another body is something I cannot even describe. The freedom it brings, the way you move, it's a whole new part of yourself. We never thought about what Moony could do to us. How our injuries would react with our transformations back to human."

"James," she exclaimed, "I want to marry you."

He sat up, looking straight to her. Did she really say that? The passionate look in her eyes told him she had. He had to ask, "What did you say?"

She choked, "I want to marry you."

Again running a trembling hand into his hair, "Lily—"

"I know we're young," she acknowledged, "But we almost died. I know how I feel for you, Jay." Her voice started to waiver, "I've wanted to marry you for a long time; deep down I knew it all along. I don't want to wait anymore in case—" she stammered, "Well, because we may never get the chance to." She blinked several times and swallowed hard looking him dead in the eyes.

He took a deep breath, "Lily, when you left for London—When Voldemort was—I can't feel that loss again. It nearly killed me to see you defenseless; to know that I couldn't help you." He went over to her and kneeled in front of her, taking her hands in his, "I always want to be there to protect you."

Lily tried to smooth down the pieces of hair sticking up on his head. After giving up on his hair as it continued to stand up, she said, "I didn't mean to force you into anything—"

James shook his head and pulled out a ring he had been hiding in his back pocket. He saw her eyes double in size and her mouth fall open slightly.

"James—" The small gold band reflected the orange hue dancing around through the trees while the diamond, delicately placed on top, shone brightly turning all different colors as James held it in his hand.

"That's the reason why I brought you here today."

"God, James. I—"

He laughed slightly, "I actually had a really good speech ready, too. I've practiced it all week." He blushed. "But this works even better."

Thanks to you all who have reviewed! It is so nice to hear what you think. The next update should be in one week or so. Plan for more action; Peter and Sirius, as well as other minor characters; and for the time I'm trying to span to move a little faster. -Aksarben


	18. Eighteen: Family

September, 1979

"Padfoot," James gasped, seeing Sirius standing, soaked in the bitter cold, autumn rain "What's going on?"

Sirius slowly stepped into the foyer with his heavy boots tracking in mud and more rain water. Lily stumbled down the staircase wearing one of James's old quidditch t-shirts and baggy lounge pants. Her hair, wet from an earlier shower, matched Sirius's drenched locks.

"Sirius, where's your helmet?" she questioned, hastily peeling the wet leather jacket from his back. His shoulders shook underneath her touch. Sirius was shivering from head to toe, beads of water dropped from the fringe that hung into his eyes.

James looked down to the floor, saw the large puddle Sirius now stood in, and took the soaked jacket from Lily and threw it in the kitchen across the hallway, not caring that it slopped onto the tile. He bent his head down to Sirius's eyes, the silver-grey orbs were unfocused and unblinking, "Siri, what's wrong?"

Sirius shook his head roughly without saying a word. Lily ran into the kitchen, throwing all the lights on. She and James had been in bed at least a half hour before the loud rumbling of the motorbike crept down the long street in front of the house. James was surprised to see the bike's head light shine into their living room as Sirius pulled up in the downpour.

Standing in the entry way, Sirius still hadn't moved. His body began to shake more uncontrollably. Lily returned with a large towel and held it out to him, he didn't respond. "Sirius, sweetheart, what's happened?" She cautiously approached his still form, raising the towel to his face and brushing his fringe from his forehead, "You're freezing. What were you thinking being out in this?"

"Reg is dead." Sirius's voice came out almost as if in a vice. His throat was tight from the cold while his teeth still chattered together.

Lily immediately glanced to James who had utter shock etched in every part of his face. She took a step back from Sirius, noticing a bruise appearing on the side of his cheek.

James breathed out, "What? Regulus?"

Sirius gave one weak nod from his head before taking the towel, gingerly, from Lily's hands. He rubbed the cotton material over his face, his exposed forearms, and the back of his neck. His slow movements unnerved both Lily and James.

"How?" James demanded.

Sirius brought the towel back to his face, covering his eyes. He took one deep lung-full of air, breathing in the scent of the freshly laundered cloth. It was when he exhaled, that he lost all control over his emotions. His throat relaxed and he let out a cry that James hadn't heard in a long while.

The child-like sobs echoed down the hallway and broke Lily's heart. She rushed to his side and wrapped her arms around his neck, ignoring the rain dripping from his hair onto her shirt. James hung his head low, his brow furrowed and he felt a chill run through him as his body went numb. Sirius's sobs grew to the point where his knees almost gave out from under him.

James didn't know what to do. He saw how Lily held Sirius's head, cradling it next to hers. The entire scene made him think back to when his parents had died. James never really grieved for them until a year or so after the fact. Being made Head Boy without his father there to congratulate him; graduating from Hogwarts without his mother crying tears of joy from the crowd. There was a point right before graduation where James broke down in front of Lily, letting his heart pour like a fountain to her, like a scared child. He cried in front of her, and cried hard. A small tinge in the back of his mouth made him remember how sore his throat was afterwards.

"How did it happen?" Lily pleaded, still holding Sirius's forehead to hers.

He couldn't answer.

Her voice shook, "Sirius. Tell us."

Sirius tentatively snaked his arms around Lily's waist, holding her tighter. He held his eyes shut tight and buried his head into her neck.

James couldn't wrap his mind around the present situation. Sirius's brother. Regulus was not even two years younger. James did have a hard time accepting Regulus was a part of the Death Eaters; however, he had hoped no real harm would come to him. He suspected Moody's popular raids were the cause in the sick twist of fates.

James went to Sirius once he regained his composure. Lily retracted; her eyes red and filled with tears. James put a hand to Sirius's shoulder and choked out, "Was it a raid?"

"He was so stupid." Sirius's voice still had a child-like waiver and cracked in certain spots mentioning his brother specifically, "I got an owl from my mother yesterday saying that they couldn't find him. I didn't think anything of it." He trailed off, "They found the—they found his body two hours ago." Sirius brought his hands into his wet hair; the now dirty towel dropping to the puddle beneath him. "He drowned." He let out a few more light sobs, his heart beat quickening again with each one let out.

"Just breathe, Siri." Lily grabbed his arm and led him into their sitting room. She ushered him to an arm chair close to their fireplace. "James," she called, "Start a fire."

James jumped into action, starting a fire was something he knew how to do. He brushed by Lily and Sirius and knelt down to the fireplace. Taking out his wand, he listened as Sirius began again.

"I went home—home to make sure my mother was—"

"You went home?" James asked, before starting the blaze with a jet of bright yellow light.

Sirius nodded, "It's only been two months since Dad died. I had to make sure she…"

Lily sat across from Sirius, still very close to him she whispered, "What did she say?" James, after mindlessly adjusting a piece of wood, joined the two, sitting next to Sirius.

"She was angry." Sirius dropped his head.

James anxiously fumbled with the gold band on his left hand. Sirius had been through a lot. His upbringing was less than acceptable in James's opinion. First his father passing and now his younger brother; James had just witnessed the best day of his life with Sirius right at his side. Now, Sirius was in a living hell and there was nothing James could do to protect him. Sirius had always been his best mate, a brother in almost all sense of the word. James wanted to protect him from evils of the world. Sirius had been in the room when James found out about his parents' deaths.

"Did she know how it happened?" inquired Lily in a quiet voice.

"Did she hit you, again?" James asked, seeing the light purple suggestion to the side of his face.

Appalled, Lily stood up; and, with a hand to Sirius's chin, tilted his face towards the firelight. Her eyes widened at the slight bruise just above his jaw line.

"_It's all your fault!" Walburga __Back screamed at her eldest child. Her voice was high and screeched with an insane fierceness. _

_Sirius knew she was close to snapping. He shook his head slowly at her selfishness and disregard. _

"_Did you shake your head at me, Sirius __Orion__?" Crazily, she approached him, staring him dead in the eyes and wildly waving her arms. "Your father would have never—" she pointed to his face, "He never let you treat me like this!" _

"_What happened to Reg?" Sirius spoke softly, yet defiantly. He needed an answer from her. He saw her nostrils flare while she sucked in a breath of air. Her fierce gaze made him retreat to earlier years. "Mom, how did he drown?"_

_She said matter-of-factly, "It was murder." She straightened her back and smoothed her wild brown hair down her neck. "He was found near that awful Muggle village; near the same muggles who killed Cygnus__." She shrieked, "Those muggles murdered my baby!" She grabbed a vase sitting on a shelf and threw it across the room. Sirius braced for the noise. The vase shattered against a wall and fell, in dozens of pieces, to the floor. _

_He spoke slowly, "What was he doing in _London_?"_

_Sirius, apparently, had gone too far. She madly twitched her head, still boring holes into him with her menacing stare. "He went alone because he felt depressed and said he needed time to himself." She snapped. "He was alone because of you!"_

"_Of me?"_

"_You deserted him!" She threw her hands up. "He always looked up to you. He wanted to be with you constantly; but you had to run off. Like always." She screamed, "You are such a disappointment!"_

"_I'm not!" Sirius made the decision to confront her for the first time. He took a step to his mother, feeling the rage and confusion building up in his chest. "I did all I could for him."_

"_You retreated to the perfect Potters' house in the perfect part of the country. You had your new, wonderful family and your atrocious Gryffindor set. You never even looked at your brother! The Slytherins were the only ones there for him."_

"_You knew he became a Death Eater!" Sirius realized, "You knew!"_

_She stated, calmly, "He wanted other people to accept him. He didn't have an older brother to watch out for him. He had no choice with you and your self righteous—"_

"_He did have a choice!"_

_His whole head had snapped to the side and his bangs were whipped around. He hadn't seen his mother raise her hand. He felt a sting to the side of his face and heard a crack bounce off the room's walls. The all-too-familiar twinge of pain on his cheek made him shake his head. He returned to face her, shaking the long, black hair from his eyes. _

_No remorse was shown. Her face was cold and stiff. Her dark brown eyes were almost black, as if all the life had been taken out of them. He took one last look at his mother and turned on the spot. Within seconds he had reached the front door and opened it, letting the light rain splash into the house. _

"_Go on and leave then, like you always do, Sirius!" She called after him, demanding him to turn around. "Sirius Black!"_

_He paused for a brief second looking back to his mother standing in the long and narrow hallway. He looked up. Regulus's childhood room upstairs was visible from the landing. Sirius would never see his younger brother lean over the railing and call out his name. Sirius ran out into the rain, slamming the door behind him. _

Lily stood with her arms folded across her chest. Her hair had dried and the night sky had begun to brighten up. Sirius sat in an armchair next to the fire that was still lit, only reduced to small, scattered flames. James, who sat in a chair next to Sirius, gradually got up and joined Lily in the kitchen.

He looked tired and had grey smudges under his eyes, "I don't know what to say."

She gave a weak smile, "There's nothing you can say."

"He's miserable. He keeps talking about Reg and how he let him down. He doesn't think he was good enough to him."

The young couple stood quietly together. Lily watched the clock strike half passed five. The mornings were getting later with the fall weather. She took a long breath, "It's a lot for a nineteen year old to handle."

"It's a lot for anyone to handle," James added.

She grabbed a cup of tea she had forgotten about and sipped it, "I never knew—Sirius never spoke about his parents." Lily offered James the tea.

"From what he's mentioned," James whispered, taking the cup, "His mother was always eccentric and sometimes abusive towards him." He took a sip, making a face at the room temperature drink, "She never hit Regulus. Just Sirius."

"Why?"

"He didn't live up to the family name. He was sorted into Gryffindor. That wasn't good enough for her." James recalled the many nights lying awake and talking to Sirius over the summer holidays. He would tell James just how lucky he was to have parents that cared. James couldn't fully appreciate that fact until later.

"I have to owl Marlene," Lily interjected.

James gave her a look. "Marlene?"

"James," she whispered, "She would want to know."

"She left him for some bloke in the city." James hissed, "She made her decision."

"But James—"

"They don't need it, Lily," he said firmly, "Just let him be."

"She didn't drop off the face of the earth, James." She hissed, keeping her voice low, "She loved him. Still does. She would want to be here for him."

"Let it be—"

Hello everyone! My next update will come soon. I promise I will sneak Peter into it somehow. I just wanted to get this chapter done with. Hope you liked it! Oh, and thanks to you all the nice reviews. They are appreciated! -Aksarben


	19. Nineteen: Adapting

December, 1979

"Oi," Gideon Prewett called, waving his hand in the air, "Mister and Misses Potter! We've got two seats here for you!"

A few Order members laughed evenly as Lily and James entered the Great Hall. There were holiday decorations galore; a tree that made Hagrid look miniature, ornate wreaths hung from the high rafters, and delicate evergreen garlands lined the sides of the stone walls. The four tables were reduced to one in the center of the room, filled with the Order, Dumbledore sitting towards the head.

James and Lily sat next to Gideon Prewett and Benjamin Fenwick, a Hufflepuff chaser three years their senior. James saw Fenwick ignore the parchment in his hands and take notice to Lily, looking her up and down as they got situated at the table. Among the tasteful Fenwick, there were four unrecognizable faces towards the front end of the table that Dumbledore occupied. One woman, in her thirties James guessed, with long blonde hair; an older man wearing very stately attire with a short, salt and pepper beard; a tall, dark-skinned man with a bald head; and a younger man with curly brown hair that couldn't have been more than twenty five years old.

Lily looked around, "I thought the boys were supposed to be here tonight."

"They were," said James, still looking around. "I talked to Sirius last night. He said he was coming."

"Oi, James," Fabian Prewett called from across the table, "Did you hear about the Wimbourne game last night?"

James scoffed, "Did I hear about the assassination attempt on Greg Parsons?"

Fabian busted out laughing, "Crazy isn't it?"

Gideon agreed, "I've never heard of such a thing! Wands are one thing, but knives snuck onto the pitch?"

"That's just mad." Fabian scoffed, "What did they expect?"

"Yeah," James shook his head. "No one can even get close enough to check Parsons in the air, let alone stab him."

Gideon put his elbows on the table top, "I guess Benji was at the game."

"Really?" James asked, leaning over the table to look at Fenwick.

Benjamin Fenwick looked up from the Daily Prophet he was reading and glanced at Gideon. He cleared his throat and glanced towards Lily and to Marlene down the way. "There were a lot of people. I only saw security rush in after they all took ground." Raising his voice and smirking, he boasted, "Since I'm the team trainer, I asked Greg what happened once we were off the field. He said that Marcus Horowitz tried to stab him when he reached for the quaffle."

"Ah, reminds me of the Gryffindor-Slytherin game of seventy-four," said Fabian, "With fourteen-year-old James Potter in the middle of it."

"Lily," Gideon laughed, getting her attention by touching her shoulder, "You would have loved it. Your James, at the bottom of a pile, getting punched and throwing a few himself! All fourteen of us were rolling in the mud with cuts and bruises everywhere. James was-what? A fourth-year mixed with all of us sixth and seventh? We got detentions for weeks!"

Fenwick discarded his paper and leaned over the table to get a glance beyond the Prewett brother. His eyes lit up, "Potter?" Recognizing James, he smiled and chuckled, "Potter, I haven't seen you since that fight! How've you been?" Fenwick stood up in his seat and reached over Gideon to shake James's hand.

"I've been well, Ben," James said under Fenwick's firm grip.

"Just got hitched in May," Fabian blurted out before taking a hasty drink of water.

Fenwick, sitting back down, "Congratulations, mate!" Gesturing towards Lily, avoiding staring at her directly, "You caught that one, did you?"

James nodded, smiling in Lily's direction, "Yes."

Gideon drastically threw his arms out wide. He yelled, overacting, "This is the magnificent, the superlative, the most brilliant woman on the earth, Misses Lily Potter!" Lily gave Fenwick a beaming smile and a short wave. Gideon slowly returned his elbows to the table top and sarcastically added, "The reception was adequate."

Marlene McKinnon bowed over the table a few seats down, her blonde curls falling onto the wooden top. Her ornery tone hit home towards the Prewett brothers, "It was a wonderful wedding to those of us who are able to remember it."

The table erupted in giggles from the female members of the Order. Lily even suppressed a laugh, putting a delicate hand over her mouth.

Before Gideon could retort, Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and stood up. All heads turned towards the front of the hall. Albus waved his hand towards the hall's entrance. Dust fell from the tops as the doors noisily collided and closed completely.

His smooth and cheery voice greeted them, "I would like to thank you all for making the long journey here tonight." The old man's head leaned towards the decorations, "Particularly around the holidays."

Lily noticed the house points in the corner of the room, all four showing the marks of Hogwarts's current students. Ravenclaw was in the lead, the bright yellow color shining out prominently among the rest.

"I have a few people to introduce." Dumbledore stopped himself, "You may realize, there are a few members missing. That will be explained as soon as they turn up." A graceful smile dawned his face. "I have four new members for you to meet. Firstly," he gestured towards the elder man of the new group, "Edgar Bones from the Department of Mysteries."

Edgar Bones stood up and nodded once to the crowd. His stern features never faltered. He reminded James of his father's friends and how relentless they seemed on the outside. The aged pureblood clans always had a severe appearance. James recognized man's name as the head of the Ministry's Defense office.

"Edgar has come to assist with our new mission. He—on second thought, Edgar, why don't you introduce who you have brought." Dumbledore took a step back.

Bones cleared his throat. His voice was deep and scratchy. "I am joined by my second in command, Kingsley Shacklebolt." The tall bald man stood up from the table and shortly raised a hand to the viewers. "And my students, Emmaline Vance and Caradoc Dearborn."

Dumbledore put a hand to Bones's shoulder, "They are a part of the Ministry's Guard and I have invited them to instruct us on more preventive means of protection."

The table went on edge; all the members exchanged glances to one another.

"I have come to realize that our opposition is no longer afraid of pushing our barriers."

Bones interrupted, surely, "I am here to help you protect yourselves and to gain an offense."

Over the table Fabian whispered to Gideon, "Is he serious?"

"As the number one offense against the criminal, you all need to be bold and unafraid. With me you will face your fears head-on and learn new strategies on working as a pack."

James felt Lily lean into his side. Just then, the Great Hall's doors creaked open. All heads whipped around.

Remus Lupin, Sirius, Peter Pettigrew, and three middle-aged men entered; all their cloaks were wet from the falling snow and their shoes were covered in mud. James looked to Sirius; his hair was damp and looked frazzled. Remus, he saw, had horrible grey marks under his eyes; marks that he commonly had around the full moon. Peter, too, had dark bags under his eyes, a new look for him, most likely due to lack of sleep. Sirius finally met his gaze and gave a quick nod. James wondered where his three friends had gone without him. None of them had been in contact for over a week.

Dumbledore looked to the newcomers and gestured towards the back of the table that remained empty. "Welcome, gentlemen, please sit down. We were just getting started."

The men all took seats, their wet shoes squeaking along the marble floors. A few seconds passed and Dorcas Meadows, along with Mad Eyed Moody and two others, entered hastily.

"Meadows," Moody called after the woman in front, "Give Drews back his wand!"

Dorcas was holding a wand in her hand; however, her wand was a light brown color while this one was almost black. She was walking with a pleasant, yet haughty air. She turned back to Moody and the two men, one of whom looked a tad irritated. "I'll give it back when he learns to mind his aim!"

Dumbledore chuckled, "Please, Miss Meadows, have a seat. Alastor, Drews, Harvey, there's room left for you at the end, there."

Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore gave Bones a look for him to continue.

"We have begun a series of investigations. Our main goal is to locate and arrest all that are directly involved with this new Death Eater lot." Bones glanced to his agents sitting around him, "It is my understanding that you are lacking strong defensive magic and group tactic skills. I must also stress the need for physical training in case you become unarmed at any time—"

"I must add," Dumbledore interjected, his gentle voice soothing the audience, "The Death Eaters are no longer being reasonable. They have turned to violence and have made plenty of individual acts; leaving us no choice." Bones sat back down; leaving the stage for Dumbledore. "We, as a group, should start to act as a whole."

A single hand shot up from the table.

"Yes, Mister Prewett?" Dumbledore pointed down the table.

Gideon stood up, proud and strong. "Sir, are you saying that we will be undergoing training?"

Albus clasped his hands in front of him, nodding. "Yes, Gideon. I have invited these guests here in order to supply you with an understanding of aggressive combat that I cannot instruct." He continued while Gideon sat back down; the rest of the table did not stir. "My main goal is to strengthen our safety and efficiency." His arm went out towards the front of the table, "Edgar and his assistants will conduct sessions here in the empty classrooms down the potions corridor. He will instruct you on where to go."

Bones, Shacklebolt, Vance, and Dearborn stood up and faced the rest of the Order. Shacklebolt pulled out a long piece of parchment and coughed once. All members started to feel uneasy and began to look to one another again.

Kingsley's deep voice echoed around the room, "Black, Sirius; Potter, Lily; Fenwick, Benjamin; and Meadows, Dorcas."

James narrowed his eyes and looked from Lily to Sirius who sat a few seats behind him. He felt Lily lean her body into his again and squeeze his hand under the table.

Shacklebolt continued, "You four will begin with Bones."

Edgar Bones left the other three at the head of the table and walked towards the exit. Instinctively, Dorcas Meadows followed him. Fenwick looked at Lily and lifted himself from the bench, following after Meadows. Lily looked to James and then to Sirius. Sirius nodded and smirked at her as he stood up. She let go of James's hand and, without a word, walked after Sirius.

They left the rest of the Order behind; the deep voice beginning to call out more names, "Lupin, Remus; McKinnon, Marlene; Potter, James—"

Once separated, the real labor began.

Lily was thrown to the ground. The side of her head collided with the hard flooring, savagely bouncing from the ground like a football. There was a scrape along her shoulder from landing against a desk. Her necklace had gotten tangled into her long hair and was thrown into her face. Her vision grew dark for a split second.

Sirius, appalled, yelled, "Bones, enough!"

Edgar Bones, whose wand was pointed to Lily on the floor, addressed Sirius, Fenwick, and Dorcas Meadows, "You see, she took her eyes off of me, once."

Lily gingerly stood to her feet, using her arm to steady herself against the nearby wall; nausea followed the uneasiness in her head. Bones had propelled her three feet as she tried to bind his arms. She overpowered him at first, but lost the upper hand within seconds.

"It only takes one moment for the Death Eaters to eliminate you." He lowered his wand and kept the same stern look on his face. "The entire reason I am here is to teach you, not only how to protect yourself, but to understand that they are becoming more and more aggressive. They will be aiming to kill you."

As Bones continued, Lily made her way, slowly, back to the lineup of the other three Order members. Sirius put his hand on the small of her back and urged her closer to him. She was relieved to feel the weight of him up against her, steadying her uneasy body.

"None of you are out of bounds for them." Bone cocked his head to one side and pointed to Lily, "How do you think the Death Eaters will react to a muggle-born agent?" He pointed to Dorcas. "How do you think they will react to women?" Sirius's hand pressed into Lily harder and she saw him twitch his wand hand.

Bones walked away from the four members and called, "Black." Sirius remained still, while the rest of the members tensed up. The older man turned to face them again, "Black, take the floor!"

Hesitating, Sirius walked around Lily and up to Bones.

"Meadows," Bones gestured next to Sirius, "Arrest him." Dorcas shot Bones a look; she wasn't sure of what to do. Bones almost smiled, "Come, now, Meadows. I've seen your skills. This should be easy for you." The Ministry official clapped Sirius on the back and ordered, "Black, resist it."

Lily looked to Fenwick. Although the ex-quidditch star had many instruction meetings with Hooch, this training session called for a whole new type of finesse and nerve. They had been in Slughorn's old room for over an hour, testing their combative spells.

Sirius faced Dorcas head-on as they both took out their wands. A loud click startled them and they jumped at the classroom door opening. Albus Dumbledore poked his head into the room.

"I trust, your session has almost concluded, Edgar."

Bones, disappointed, pocketed his wand and smoothed his cloak. "Dumbledore, I've done what I can for the day." He stalked towards the door, "I will need to speak with you privately about assignments for these kids and our next meetings."

Dumbledore, his arm outstretched for Bones, smiled, "Of course."

As the two men disappeared into the darkened hallway outside the room, the four members glanced at one another, their eyes worried and confused.

Sirius broke the silence, "I guess I understand now."

Lily looked to him, the scrape along her arm starting to sting, "Sirius, what's going on?"

Fenwick joined in. "They want us to start making arrests? I thought that was the Ministry's job."

Dorcas sealed the circle they had created in the center of the room. She stuck her wand into her robes, "Apparently, they need more bodies. Fortunately enough for the _delightful_ Ministry, we're ready and able in their eyes."

"Since when do we work alone?" Fenwick cut in, "I thought Dumbledore wanted us to work in groups."

Lily shook her head, "I'm sure Bones only wanted to show us what would happen if we all got separated." She toyed with her slender wand between her fingers, her focus causing a throbbing pain to start behind her eyes.

Fenwick bent down to Lily's eyes. "Bones blasted you across the room, Evans."

"It's Potter, Fenwick," said Sirius, abruptly. Fenwick looked to Sirius, perturbed.

"You remember that night at the Masons' home. Voldemort kept trying to separate us by creating distractions." Lily switched points. "Sirius," she turned to him, "Were you, Remus, Dorcas, the others, sent out to recruit?"

Sirius nodded, looking to Dorcas.

"Dumbledore sent Sirius and Remus out to the werewolves, while Moody and I took vampires in the east." Dorcas brought up a hand to cover a yawn. "Dumbledore mentioned using you and James right before you were engaged. After that, he thought otherwise."

Lily furrowed her brow, "Is that what he wants us to do now?"

Sirius cut in. "No," he said, his eyes were concerned, "All he wants from you and James is to make sure that you are able to protect yourselves." He took a breath and looked, again, to Dorcas. "We don't want, what happened to you and James last year, to happen again. Voldemort seems to be favoring couples and families. He likes to use the spouses, children, and other family as tools against them. You know, get them to submit."

Pocketing his wand into a jacket, Sirius added, "Dumbledore just wants us to be able to have a more proactive role. Should we see anything, we could act quickly and make the arrest, instead of waiting around for the Ministry."

Lily was overcome with nausea and the ache behind her eyes. The blood rushed from her head. She backed into a small desk chair and sat, leaning back and putting a hand to her temple.

"Lils?" asked Sirius. "Are you alright?"

Dorcas approached her, taking a knee in front of the chair. "What's wrong?"

Lily could no longer see Dorcas's face, even though she was merely a foot away. A large dark circle was in the center of her vision. Lily choked out, "I'm not sure."

Dorcas saw her eyes roll back into her head and Lily slumped forward, Dorcas catching her limp body.

"Shite, Lils!" Sirius ran to Dorcas lifting Lily from the chair and onto the floor, being mindful of her head that had a large bump on the side.

Fenwick's Physical Safety Training from the Professional Quidditch League jumped into action. He knelt next to Sirius, taking Lily's wrist to feel a pulse.

Sirius, aghast, got to his feet. "Is she alright, Ben?"

"She's got a strong pulse." He touched the side of her face with his free hand and lightly tapped it. "Lily. Open your eyes." Fenwick looked up, still concentrating on her pulse, "She's fainted."

Sirius headed for the door, "I'll get Madame—"

"No," Dorcas blurted out raising a hand to stop him, "She's gone for the Holidays."

Fenwick urged, taking out his wand, "Get Potter." Sirius flew from the room.

Dorcas leaned over Lily's face and brushed her hand to her left temple. She gasped, "Do you feel that? She must have hit her head when she fell."

Fenwick touched the side of Lily's cool face, "She'll have to go to Saint Mungos. See if I ever take a session with Bones again."


	20. Twenty: Happy Christmas

"Now, tell me Mister Potter, does she have any allergies?"

The healer's assistant had James cornered into a cold, white office. He hadn't been allowed to see Lily since they brought her in. Fenwick was sure that Lily had only fainted; the trip to Saint Mungo's almost seemed irrational. However, the healer's assistant suddenly approached him and started to ask mundane questions. He had already filled out three pages of information at the very beginning.

He felt her tap his arm, "Mister, Potter, is your wife allergic to anything?"

Impatient, he shook his head, "I don't think so. I've already filled out all I know. Is this normal procedure?"

The assistant was a young woman, her long hair wrapped into a bun. She looked so young; most likely straight out of healing school. "Sir," she began, using a methodically even tone, "There is a situation with your wife. We need to get all of this paperwork filled out correctly and promptly before we make any sort of advancement."

"She's not allergic to anything as far as I know. What do you mean there's a situation?" he asked.

She took a breath, bringing a clipboard up to her chest; her other hand holding an ink pen, scratching furiously on the parchment, "Mister Potter, Healer Waters was not aware of her pregnancy."

James blinked. "What did you say?"

She tilted her head to the side. "When you arrived she was having a severe panic attack. We administered the Sleepless Drought potion as well as another to steady her heart rate." Lowering her clipboard and finally looking James in the eyes, she repeated softly, "We were not aware of her pregnancy. There was no mention of it on the records you filled out at the front."

Aghast, he firmly said, "She's not pregnant. Look at her."

"Sir," the young woman was back to her mechanical speech, "The evaluation came out to be positive only moments after the first round of potions. Had we known—"

"Hang on," James hadn't stopped shaking his head. He put his hands up. "What are you saying?"

"Your wife is pregnant with one hundred percent certainty." She scratched some more on the clipboard. "Now, we need to be sure that the rest of her information is accurate so we have no more issues."

"We are talking about Lily Potter, right?"

"Mister Potter," she put down the clipboard on the small desk off to James's right, "I'm going to get my supervisor, alright?"

She left the room before he could get a word out. James looked to the ceiling. What was happening? Pregnant? A panic attack? A situation? Fenwick said that it was a typical reaction to a concussion. James, alone in the small room, fretfully ran his fingers through his hair. Suddenly his forehead was covered in sweat. He hadn't noticed how balmy the room had gotten.

An older man wearing a crisp and white healer's uniform briskly walked into the room and picked up the clipboard, already halfway filled out by the assistant. He had short brown hair and wore glasses similar to James's. "Mister Potter, my assistant informed me that you had a few questions for me."

James, still backed into the corner, just stared straight ahead.

"Mister Potter?"

"Yes," James choked out.

"James, my name is Mark Waters. I have been tending to your wife Lily. She's stable right now. However, there was a severe mistake to your earlier file."

James relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath. "I beg your pardon, sir. But I'm having a difficult time understanding what's going on."

Healer Waters slowly took a step closer to James, letting the clip board fall to his side. "James, your wife, Lily, has a concussion, as well as has had a severe panic attack. We administered potions to stabilize her; however, our pregnancy test, which is standard for all new patients, came back positive."

The room went silent. James sucked in a lung-full of air, "Lily's pregnant?"

"Yes," Waters gently said, "She's around four weeks."

James felt sudden warmth in his chest while his fingers were ice cold.

"James, we gave her a potion to steady her heart. The potion could have done damage to the fetus. Do you understand?"

James's head was about to explode. He couldn't speak.

"She came in unconscious. Your associate, Benjamin Fenwick, told us that she had a concussion; however, once she arrived here, her pulse began to accelerate. She was showing the classic signs of anxiety while being unconscious—"

"Anxiety?" asked James, while his head was swimming, "She's never had problems before."

"Have there been any significant changes in her life recently?"

"She—Well," James sputtered out, being cautious about the Order, "She's changed jobs and both her parents died a long while ago. I know it bothered her when we were married, that her parents weren't there."

Waters immediately brought up the information parchment and scratched half hazard all over the paper.

"Will she be alright?" James asked again, "Should I be worried?"

The healer looked up from his notes and gave James a brief smile, "She's stable and awake. _You_ might need to be stabilized soon though. Are you feeling alright, Mister Potter? You're looking pale."

James exhaled loudly, folding his arms over his chest, "May I see her?"

"Certainly."

The room Lily was kept in was freezing. She finally woke up from another nightmare, the same one she'd been having since they had gotten married. Snape had mentioned closing her mind to the dark magic, but she hadn't had an episode for a while and occlumency was difficult to master.

She caught a glimpse of herself in a side mirror. Her face was almost unrecognizable. It was pale and sickly, there was also a purple bruise fanning from her temple almost touching her eyebrow. Her reflection shocked her and she quickly snapped her attention to the door that was opening.

James's unruly black hair was the first thing she made out.

He slipped a foot into the chilled recovery room and saw Lily was staring at him. She had been crying. The tip of her nose was rosy pink, starkly contrasting with the ghostly white of her face.

"Hello, love," he whispered softly.

She gave him a weak smile and sat up straighter on the stiff mattress. She had a horrible taste in her mouth from the potions and an intravenous tube going into her arm. Like the muggle hospital Lily had seen her mother in, the room was pure white and had a strange smell to it. However, Saint Mungo's held more and more gadgets with vials of potions lining a small table next to her bed.

He took another step towards her, being careful not to show the concern on his face. His hands hung nervously down at his side, curling into fists every so often. He wasn't sure what to say. "How are you feeling?" He saw her visibly choke up.

Swallowing hard, she murmured, "Alright, I guess." She looked down to the thin blanket that covered her legs and she steadily flexed her feet.

The two stood there for a few moments, James noticing a single tear fall down her left cheek.

"Well, Misses Potter," Healer Waters snuck behind James and hurried over to Lily's side, "Let's see how you're doing." Brushing her hair to the side, he examined the lump on her head, lightly running his hands over it, minding the large bruise. He asked, "Have you had any more nausea?"

"No," she said as he lifted her chin up with a finger.

Still inspecting her temple, he quickly looked to James and back, "The swelling has gone down and the contusion has been reduced to almost fifty percent." Waters sighed confidently, "I think we are almost done with you, Lily."

James looked to Waters, "She can go home?"

"We did conclude our testing; however, you will need to make future appointments at the front before you leave. The baby's reacting well." He took out his wand and waved it over the vials before they capped themselves off. "Now," Waters looked from Lily to James, "I am coming to realize that the pregnancy was somewhat of a shock to you."

Lily hesitantly brought her sparkling green eyes up to James. James looked to the floor.

The healer nodded and addressed them both with earnest, "It may be intimidating at first and a lot to take in. I was scared out of my wits when my wife told me. I was not much older than you." He smiled. "But having a child is the most precious gift any couple could ever receive. Once the first shock wears off, you'll see. It will take time and we have counselors and more information than you could ever need." Waters walked towards the door. "I will give you both some privacy. Just let me know when you're ready to leave."

James glanced up to him as he walked passed, "Thank you."

The door shut. It was getting very late. James looked outside the small window in the corner of the room. Light snow fell in the dark and lined up on the outside ledge. He ran a hand through his hair again.

She spoke first, her lower lip trembling faintly while she whispered, "I'm pregnant."

James remained still, "I know."

She sucked in a quick breath before it hitched in her throat. Looking to the ceiling, she breathed out, "They want to see me in one week to check on . . . it." She hesitantly looked to James. She had been holding her breath. "Tell me what you're thinking." Desperately she breathed, "Please."

He halted his thoughts, asking, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I—I wasn't . . ." She had heard the pain and confusion in his voice. Her heart was stuck in her throat, "I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to . . ."

"To what?" James asked, walking over towards her cot.

Lily twisted one of her long auburn locks in her hand, "To—I don't even know what I'm saying. . . "

James looked down to her. In all honesty, she looked utterly helpless and exhausted, sitting there in the pure white room with potions on the bedside table and tubes coming from her. He sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed, his hands on his knees, "I never thought—"

"Are you angry?"

He glanced to her. She was going to cry again, the pools of tears lined the bottom of her eyes. The question was sincere. James wasn't sure of his first name after hearing about the pregnancy, let alone how he felt about becoming a father. He was sure of one thing, he said, "Lils, I could never be angry with you."

"I just—we weren't—"

James slid closer to her, "I'm just as scared as you are, Love." He tried to process the thought out loud, "We're going to have a baby."

For some reason, seeing the authenticity on his face made her melt. She took in a shaky breath, "What do we do?"

James's face twitched to, what looked like, worry. He leaned back onto her sheets, minding her legs and tried to think about whom he could talk to; someone who had all the answers and could give those tips and advice. No one alive came up. Next, flashes of the Order and the war shot into his head. He was quick to rid his mind of those.

"I want to go home," she said, drawing her knees up to her chest.

James nodded, "I'll go tell Waters. I don't think its safe enough to floo from here though, so—"

She exploded and slammed her fists onto the cot, "What have we done, James?"

Startled, he sat up. All he could do was to stare at her. All he could think about was how Lily would look with a swollen stomach or how Sirius would react to hearing the news—to how Snape would react.

"James," she persisted, her voice shaking, "We were so stupid! Getting pregnant during a war? Bringing an innocent child into this? What were we thinking?"

"We weren't thinking. We both knew this could happen." He spoke with a firm assurance that, he hoped would give her some kind of comfort. "We just have to deal with it. I know we can. It's just—just one of life's surprises."

She sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands

"Now," James continued, standing to his feet, "we have, what—eight months to think?" He saw her head nod softly. Inside he was about ready to burst; but, he needed to stay strong for her. There were so many things that he needed to consider. "Let's go home. We can eat and—the beauty of the thing is, that it's not going anywhere, right?" He nodded, himself, "We can think."

OOOOOOooooooo

"Pete just said that he wanted to spend more time with his mum," Remus took another bite from his chicken. "This might be her last Christmas. I don't think he's taking it too well."

Lily and James had Sirius and Remus over for dinner for the holiday, none of them with very many relatives left. Remus had been called out to do more and more recruitment trips for the Order; some of the tours ending badly. Remus had many examples where he was not welcome and even attacked by werewolves. Adding to it, Peter's sudden withdrawal from the invitation upset James to a point, Lily could tell.

The night's conversation was relatively normal, minus Sirius's updates on how the Order sessions were going to continue. He mentioned a sort of transitioning between Bones, Vance, Shacklebolt, and Dearborn. Sirius told Lily it was a blessing for them to have gotten their Bones training out of the way before he became more aggressive as time went on. Lily adjusted her ring around her finger, making sure the large stone was centered on top of her finger. She had been mesmerized by it for the past several seconds; how it reflected all the colors in the room.

"Alright, Prongs," Sirius called out, helping himself to more potatoes, "Tell us this big declaration."

Remus folded his napkin and sat it on the table, smirking, "It's not as if you've gone and gotten engaged _again_, is it?"

"No!" Lily picked up her cup of water and took a large gulp.

James leaned back in his chair and put his hands on his lap. He cleared his throat and looked to Lily who sat across their large oak dining table. They shared smiles, Lily's more nervous than his.

"Come out with it, already!" Sirius grabbed a roll and broke it into pieces, like popcorn for a muggle film.

James inhaled and saw both Remus and Sirius lean forward in their seats. "We're going to have a baby."

Sirius stopped applying the butter to his bread, the knife still hanging in the air. A large grin spread over Remus's face. Lily smiled broadly and took another sip of her water.

"You're what?" asked Sirius.

"Are you really?" Remus questioned, his held back excitement lacing the words.

"Yeah," James blushed profusely and smiled at Lily again.

"Congratulations, mate!" Sirius lost all interest in his plateful of food and rushed to James clapping a hand on his back. Remus was already giving Lily a furious embrace. Sirius pulled James into a tight hug. Laughing, he said, "Oh, a little Prongsie! You'll name it after me, of course."


	21. TwentyOne: Admitting

January 12, 1980

"Are you feeling better?" asked Sirius as he helped himself to tea in the kitchen.

Lily sat cross-legged on the floor; multiple pictures were spread out in front of her. She tucked a loose, auburn tendril behind her ear, "I was feeling ill all yesterday; but, I've been taking the potion Waters gave me. It helps."

Sirius joined her on the floor, being careful not to spill his tea on their beige carpeting. "I'm glad it's working for you." He picked up a picture and said, "You were looking pretty dreadful there, last week."

She sighed and leaned forward to grab a couple of pictures in front of her. Tilting her head at the few in her hand, she gave them over to Sirius.

Laughing, he plucked them from her fingers, "Ah, of course. I was hoping all evidence had been destroyed."

Lily smiled. "Sirius, I think you're a fine dancer." She saw him blush. "Well, your partner seemed to agree."

"She was nice." He saw Lily shake her head. Quickly, he added, "She was _too_ nice." Thankfully, he noticed, the photos in his hands did not move. "I'm growing to like these muggle photos."

She took another couple of pictures from the floor. She stared at herself in the gown and got an uneasy feeling. Looking down at her wedding pictures made her realize how quickly her life had changed over the past year. One picture in particular, caught her attention, James stood with his groomsmen, Sirius on his right side; the two grinning widely like young children. The next picture of herself, she skimmed over. The delicate, white dress flowed down to the grass where she stood—it had taken multiple stain removers to take the green out from the underside afterwards.

"James seems excited."

She looked over to Sirius, inquisitively.

"Well, the baby's all he talks about." Sirius handed her back the photos and reclined onto his side. "We were at the Hog's Head the other day and Remus was telling us about the western werewolf packs when, all of the sudden, Prongs brings up Hogwarts." He takes a sip of his tea sideways, to Lily's amazement, without spilling a drop. "We don't think it that odd, so we humor him, and he asks us how students get signed up for school. Of course, Remus and I had no idea."

"How students get enrolled into Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I've never even thought about it." He props up his head with a fallen throw pillow. "After that, Rosemerta pipes up—"

"She was sitting with you?"

Nervous, he murmured something about Rosemerta just finishing her shift and wanting to waste time with the marauders. Regaining his story, "She tells James that parents send in birth records or can go to the school itself and sign up."

"At birth?" Lily goes off in thought, "What about . . ."

Sirius's eyes narrowed, "_Hogwarts a History_ says all medical records are intertwined between the Hospital Wing and Saint Mungos; so, I would assume it would be simple for notifications." Noticing her tone, he asked, "What are you worried about?"

She shook her head immediately.

"Lily," he said gently, "if it makes you feel any better, James is nervous as well. He spent the majority of the night talking to Rose about children." Sirius sat up and paused before mentioning, "Naturally, she was curious and asked James if you two were expecting."

Lily sighed and folded both arms over her stomach absentmindedly, "Does everyone know, now?"

Smiling, he nodded, "If not now, by next week."

"Great."

"You still have that look on your face." He took another sip of his tea. "You're much prettier when you smile Misses Potter. Now, what are you so anxious about?"

She looked to the pile of pictures again. She saw her own smiling face alongside James; holding hands by a maple tree. She had almost forgotten how happy she had been. The pregnancy brought on a whole new slew of possibilities for them. All Lily could think about were the possible tribulations. "There are so many things that can go wrong, Siri."

He looked concerned. "Your baby will be fine. It will have all its toes and little fingers and be healthy—"

"What if it's born without—like a—"

"A squib?" asked Sirius, holding his cup in his lap.

"I'm nervous. With a muggle-born parent, the odds are—"

"Prongs will love the little tyke, magic or no magic. You know that." Sirius grinned again. "I haven't seen James this excited since the Stratus Eleven came out in fifth year."

"But—"

"If you're worried, talk to James. You two have the same number of sickles in the pot, here." He leaned over his knees and scanned the pictures. "So," he said picking one up, "Which of these are mine?"

Smiling finally, she laughed, "You pick."

He scrunched up his face, thinking hard over the scenes on the floor. "My place needs more color on the walls."

"Oh, how is the house? Coming together I assume."

"Slowly." Sirius grabbed the photo of him and James before the ceremony. "I'm not lucky enough to have a woman's touch in the decorating."

"What about Rosemerta?"

He picked up a picture of the entire wedding party overlooking the orchard, "She's not my type."

Lily scoffed, "What exactly is your type, Sirius?"

Smiling, he simply said, "Complicated."

"So hard to please—"

"Me?" Sirius held a hand to his heart, "Why, Misses Potter, I'm astounded."

"Why do you call me Misses Potter so much?"

"Because I cannot call you Evans anymore." He began again, "Going on, I am not _that_ hard to please, as you say. Your husband was one of the most selective blokes at school."

Lily smiled; she knew James had only dated a few girls while at school.

"We had to persuade James, on numerous occasions mind you, to go on group dates with us. He refused so many times; saying the girl wasn't 'Evans' enough."

She suppressed a grin. "I can only imagine the girls you tried to set him up with."

"I could have put Amelia Gail from the Three Witches in front of him and he wouldn't have noticed. They were pretty girls. But they were never Lily Evans." Sirius laughed, "He would be so jealous when you and Remus met in the library. Some days he would drag me down there to spy on you two."

Taken aback, she asked, "Are you serious?"

The infamous Sirius grin spread over his handsome features, "You know how I have to answer that, don't you?"

Lily groaned in despair, realizing her pun.

"Of course, I'm Sirius." He paused and then continued, beaming, "But yes, we kept a close watch on you. Especially after we could transform."

She narrowed her eyes. "What? When?"

"Makes you nervous, doesn't it?" Sirius laughed again. "How many times have you seen a lone stag in the trees? Or a black dog wondering the streets?"

Lily's eyes widened.

"I'm joking, Lils." He waited, "Well, sometimes we would just see you doing rounds from the forest."

She shook her head. She did remember one night while doing rounds as a prefect in her sixth year. Walking the perimeter of the castle after hours was always a little unnerving. One night, she did catch a stag cantering parallel with her through the tree line of the forest. Now, it all made sense.

The popping sound from the front foyer told them James had returned from Diagon Alley. Lily gathered up the rest of her photos, stacking them on top of one another, taking one last look at James's grin.

"Oi, mate!" Sirius called, "Your wife's been interrogating me!"

Laughing, James replied, "Did you give me up, Padfoot?"

"She figured out why we went to the library so often during OWLs!"

James's voice got closer as he walked down the hallway. "I guess it's a good reason I brought something back with me then."

Lily sat up straight. She did appreciate his surprises. "Please tell me it's edible."

James let out a bark of laughter. "Well, you probably could eat it, if you want to."

"She's pregnant, Prongs. She'll eat flobberworms if presented them."

"Lils," James called out from around the corner, still snickering from Sirius's comment, "Close your eyes."

She obliged, hearing Sirius getting up from his spot next to her.

"Oh, Prongs," Sirius whispered, "Padfoot has a problem with this one."

Lily heard James's footsteps sinking into the carpeting and could hear his breathing as he sat down next to her.

"Not yet," he said, his voice giving away the broad smile on his face.

She felt something close to her face and giggled. "What are you doing?"

He cleared his throat, "You can open them, now."

Lily held her breath and opened her emerald eyes. She gasped aloud and put a hand to her mouth. She was nose to nose with a black and white, spotted kitten.

James peered into her view. "I figured you could use something cute and fluffy right about now."

Her mouth hung open as she looked from James to the kitten. Its tiny paws hung from his large hands. The kitten could have only been a few months old and straight from Diagon Alley's pet shop. In her first year, Lily would have given anything for a kitten to take to Hogwarts and to follow her up and down the corridors. She found her voice, "James!"

"The clerk said that it's a girl and that her eyes will change color after a few months; but, she reminded me of you."

The kitten's eyes were a light green that stuck out against the white of its face. "She's precious."

James handed her the tiny ball of fluff, its claws sticking into her shirt and clinging on tightly. "I thought it would be nice to have a pet in the house. Plus, you've been through a lot lately." He added, "You can pick out the name."

"Her ears are so big," Lily said, still smiling wide. She used a delicate few fingers to stroke the fur atop the kitten's tiny head watching the bat-like ears flicker with every sound and touch. "I didn't know you liked cats." The demeanor of the kitten began to grow restless.

"I don't mind them," said James. Impatiently, the kitten scrambled from Lily's grasp and onto the carpet, the little body swaying with its steps. "My great aunt had one when I was younger. I always wanted a pet."

Its tail straight up in the air with delight, the kitten scampered across the room and right up to Sirius who stood leaning against a wall. The small cat put a paw to his trouser leg and let out a quiet and high squeak. Sirius bent down, his arms crossed over his chest, letting out a sigh that sounded more like a guttural growl-

"I don't think so, cat."

Later that night, Lily found James sleeping on the sofa. Holding Rose over one of her shoulders, she went to the couch and lightly brushed his fringe from his forehead. His glasses had gone askew. "James," she whispered, "Let's get to bed."

He opened his eyes and, for a second, wondered where he was. He saw Lily standing above him, a white tail hanging by her chest. He coughed, "Oh, alright." He threw his legs over the cushion and sat up. Seeing Lily walking towards the kitchen gave him a view of Rose, strewn over her shoulder. The kitten peeked at him and batted once at Lily's pony tail that dangled just within reach of its paw. "Lils," James said, getting to his feet, not wanting to put off the conversation any longer, "Sirius said you had some concerns."

She stopped and turned to him. She looked surprised, "I'm alright."

"He said you were worried about the baby."

"I'm fine, James." She took Rose from her shoulder and cradled her against her chest.

He pushed up his sleeves past the elbows and shoved his hands anxiously into the pockets of his trousers. "Come on, Lils." He sauntered to her side, seeing her begin a retreat to the stairs. "He said that you were really troubled. Talk to me?"

She headed upstairs, one step at a time, still cradling Rose who started to meow softly.

"I do find it interesting," said James, getting irritated and following closely behind her, "that you are always able to talk to my best mates; but, never to me."

Stopping on the upper landing, she twisted around to him. "What? That's ridiculous."

"You've always done that." Without the last step, James was nose to nose with Lily, a rarity. "You're always talking to Sirius and Remus about—well almost everything."

She huffed, "I do not."

"You do!" James got to the height of the stairs and stood squarely with Lily. He thought of all the times Remus had to be the mediator between them while Head students. She had spent so much time talking with Remus; that was all they did. It was then that he noticed her stare.

Lily always had a way of silencing him with a single look. This look told him to stop talking and to stop advancing on her. He ignored it.

Taking another step toward her, he continued, "You're scared."

She opened her mouth and then shut it.

"I love you, Lils." He took another step. "I know when you're happy and I know when something's bothering you. I just want you to talk to me like you do them. I'm your husband. Can't you trust me to understand?"

"Understand?" She stalked to their bedroom, setting the kitten onto their duvet.

He chased after her.

She pulled back duvet and sheets, making room for herself on the bed. "James, please, I just want to sleep."

"Lils, I'm frightened, too." Seeing the avoidance in her eyes only encouraged him. "I'll admit it. I know a child is not what we had planned nor what is best for people in our situation; however, it's happening, I'm accepting it and, quite honestly, I'm growing more and more excited as the days go on." Confronting her again, he backed her up to their armoire.

She refused his eye contact, glancing sideways at Rose.

He went on, placing both hands on her shoulders, "This will probably be the most distressing time in our lives; but, we have something special here. Don't you feel it?" Lightly touching the side of her face, "I'm so scared, right now, Lils. But, listen to me when I say: We will be fine. The baby will be fine."

Snapping her attention to his genuine tone of voice, she said, "What if it's a squib? What then?"

"A squib-?"

"Or what if there's something wrong? A defect—or a difficulty with the birth?"

"Lily—"

"Oh, James I couldn't handle it!"

"Lils!" James took her cold hands in his. "There couldn't be anything wrong with our baby. It will be perfect; boy, girl, or no magic."

She let out a long breath, getting more comfortable, "But, how would we coexist with a child that couldn't share this world?"

"Couldn't share this world? There are tons of non-magical people that coexist here. And, you've shown me how prosperous the muggle world is. You've shown me that there is a beautiful existence without magic; that simple things are enough."

"I'm just so scared, Jay." She squeezed his fingers. "I don't know what to do."

He didn't have any answers for her. Her concerns were legitimate enough. James embraced her, the only natural reaction he had. Pulling her from the cold wall, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other around her still thin waist. After a moment he clutched her tighter, burying his face in the thick hair falling down her neck.

She whimpered lightly and hugged him back, resting her head on his chest.

"We'll be alright. I promise." It was all he could say to make her feel safe. She nodded against him, clinging to the fabric of his shirt, taking a deep breath. Trying to lighten the mood, he pointed out the kitten's new position. "Rose has claimed her spot on the bed."

Lily lifted her head away from James to peer over at the cat. Over the large duvet, she saw Rose curled into an adorable ball on top of James's own goose-down pillow. "Well," she confessed, "I won't be able to move her; she's already asleep."

James thought, "If you spoil a kitten like this, I hate to see what a baby will do to you. I might not have a space on the bed by next year."

"Did Sirius say anything about Caradoc's lesson?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "He said, both Kingsley and Caradoc are running the next session for you. It looks like I'm invited to it as well."

Lily grabbed her long hair in one hand and twisted it multiple times. "What are we training on?" She bent over to Rose on the bed, picking up the pillow she was curled up on and gently maneuvered it into the center of the mattress. "Did he say what our project will be?"

"He said that Bones thought we were almost ready. Dumbledore's going to speak with us next week on auror training. Apparently, the Ministry came to him looking for permanent officers. I'm not sure what they'll be expecting of us."

She sighed and climbed into their bed. "Nothing under extraordinary."

My thanks go out to all of you for reading! I thought some much needed dialogue needed to get out in this one. Enjoy and review! -aksarben


	22. TwentyTwo: Brandston and Bagshot

8 April 1980

Anthony Selwyn was wanted in a rape investigation by the Ministry and only Mad Eyed Moody knew where Selwyn could be found. James and Sirius had the man and a second confident cornered into a stone wall outside Hogsmede, the two Death Eaters were stuck under a dim street lamp. Both James and Sirius advanced on them and stepped into the light.

"Black," Michael Brandston, a Slytherin beater from two years his senior, James guessed, leaned casually against the wall, "What a pleasure! I haven't seen you since we were kids."

"Ah, Potter," Selwyn sneered, pointing his wand at James's face, "Where's your wife? She couldn't join us?"

James, his wand aloft as well, stated, "Put down your wand and we'll go easy on you." He looked from Selwyn to Brandston. Both men looked worn and dirty, most likely from days of staking out the Bones' home. "You're under arrest by order of the Ministry."

Brandston leaned towards James in an aggressive manner, "Pregnant Order members don't have a place out here."

"That's right!" The tallest Death Eater, Selwyn, took a step forward and quietly realized, "I forgot you knocked up the mud-blood bitch—"

"Expelliarmus!" Sirius acted swiftly, catching Selwyn's wand in the air. The act, however, did not phase his menacing tongue.

"Do you know what we do to mud-bloods, Potter?"

With a flick of his wand, James bound and gagged Selwyn before he answered himself. Brandston stood awkwardly in the alley, facing James and Sirius head on. Both Order members advanced on the lone agitator slowly. The possibilities of him apparating were still prominent.

"Cooperate Brandston, or we'll do this the hard way."

"Do you think you frighten me? You're the ones who should be afraid. "

Sirius took a step towards the man, keeping his eye on the perpetrator's wand.

Brandston continued; his eyes went wide, "The Dark Lord is always watching you."

James sided with Sirius and closed the gap between them and the Death Eater, their wands steady.

Brandston looked to James's eyes, boring holes into them. "Is she safe, Potter?"

"Put down your wand!"

"How do you know he's not watching her, right now?" The man's nostril's flared and a smile crept over his face. "When you left her all alone."

The undeniable truth; Lily was alone back in Godric's Hollow. Certainly, the Dark Lord did not know where they lived—

"Petrificus totalus!" Sirius yelled, seeing Brandston distracted. The Death Eater fell like a brick to the floor, dropping his wand in the process. Sirius bent down to pick it up, curious about James's expression he said, "Surely, Voldemort doesn't know where you live."

James nodded, more to himself in a desperate attempt of assurance.

"Kingsley has loads of charms around her."

"I know." James ran a hand through his hair and looked around.

The short fight with Selwyn and Brandston took a lot more out of him than expected. Mad Eyed Moody was right; the Death Eaters had been trained in dark magic they hadn't seen at Hogwarts. Before they were cornered, Selwyn sent out a stream of black smoke, very similar to the smog Voldemort summoned at his parents' house. The stream filled up the already foggy alley, causing their vision to be altered in more than one way. Sirius and James soon became disoriented. The smoke created illusions, black silhouettes of other people where there was no one to be found. Lucky for the both of them, Sirius muttered the counter curse after only a few seconds.

"You want to check on her?" asked Sirius as he bound Brandston's arms and legs.

James nodded again. "We'll take them to Moody, and then head off."

OOOOOoooooo

"Well, boys," Moody congratulated, "you have outdone yourselves!" He patted Brandston's petrified body on the head. Laughing, he pocketed the two discarded wands.

"Sir," James wiped his forehead with a sleeve, "I wanted to check on Lily."

Moody narrowed his eyes, "Is it a young, love bird's tradition for all hours of the night? Longbottom just left to see his wife."

Sirius came up to their conversation, "Brandston mentioned Lily before we brought him in."

"Is that so?" Moody's crazed eye twirled in the socket once before standing still on James's face. "Alright, Potter. And tell Ev—your wife to hurry up and have the blasted child. I need more of my aurors out there!"

OOOOOoooooo

He landed in the foyer, almost knocking into their bureau for the hundredth time. He really needed to make more room for himself to apparate. Lately, their home had become more and more congested; partly due to Lily turning James's office into a nursery. His folders of document copies, books, and Ministry notes were all piled on the kitchen table. His boxes of quidditch gear, old Hogwarts books, and trophies lined the living room walls.

Minding his broom, that was delicately placed on the floor, he tip-toed up the stairs.

He went passed the nursery, always glancing in to see what Lily had changed during the day. On numerous occasions, he had walked in on her rearranging the furniture; particularly, the cot. With the baby coming, Lily grew determined to give their child the best room of the house; a spectacular window, viewing the back yard and all the trees behind it. Lily favored the setting sun which was captured, in all its beauty, from that particular side of the house. Moonlight, which currently flooded the room, let him see that no large pieces had been moved recently, just a new stuffed snitch sat on the rocking chair. James smiled.

Quietly shuffling to the bedroom door, he noticed it was already ajar. One of Lily's obsessive habits was to close her bedroom door before going to sleep. The wardrobe had to be shut, the dresser drawers—nothing left open. Peering into the darkness he saw the bed was empty. Where was she? His heart began to pump faster, matching his accelerated breathing. Had she been awake, she would have come to him, said something—

Brandston's words repeated themselves over and over again. He took out his wand, now being more alert to the many darkened corners. Deftly he headed down the stairs, jumping the last step that had a tendency to creak. The darkness started to play with his eyes; he was thankful to see a small light above the kitchen sink.

Rose caught his attention. The small cat, that seemed to grow bigger every day, sat on the kitchen window sill; its tail twitching from side to side as it looked outside into the night. He called out, "Lily?"

No answer. He went into the kitchen, alarms going off in his head.

He saw a bunt cake, elegantly drizzled with chocolate sitting alone on the counter; untouched, unlike Lily, again. He turned and scanned the dining room, nothing but papers; he looked through the family room, nothing but cat toys scattered on the floor. It was too late for her to visit Marlene. Where—

A minute light appeared in the back yard. James peered through the kitchen door; the light floated a few inches from the ground, a small blue light from a wand. Lily.

He opened the door and waited for his eyes to adjust to the night again. The blue orb illuminated a woman's form lying on the ground.

"Lily," whispered James. He had seen this scenario before, dark magic trying to seduce his mind, get him to let down his guard. His legs seemed to move without him, however. A few cautious steps turned into a brisk run. James's heart pounded in his head, a chill ran over his flesh. The fallen woman was face-up on the grass, not moving; a small round stomach confirmed it was Lily. His eyes darted from one side of the yard to the other, searching for Death Eaters, or even Voldemort himself. Getting closer, to his relief, he saw her sit up, unharmed.

"James?"

"Lils?" he breathed. He ran to her, still holding his wand tightly, "What in the bloody hell are you doing out here?"

She used her arms to prop herself up while lying on the grass-covered ground. She wasn't frightened or hurt, just more concerned about James's apprehension. "What's wrong?"

James shook his head once and looked around the yard. "Why are you on the ground? Are you hurt?"

"No," she crossed her legs and sat up, "Star gazing."

He immediately looked up to the sky. Surely enough, the stars were out, shining brightly against the black canvas of the atmosphere.

"It's been overcast all week. I thought I'd sneak out here for a while."

He was short with her, "It's not safe out here."

"Kingsley put up loads of charms." She inhaled a lungful of fresh air and sighed contently. "He said I would be fine as long as I didn't go beyond the fences. Bathilda had to ask his permission to even stop by." That explained the cake. Bathilda Bagshot, a long time family friend, insisted on spoiling the young couple since they had arrived, especially since she found out about their pregnancy. Lily had on a white shirt that stretched over her stomach and showed the small bump that had slowly appeared over the past few months.

James took a deep breath. He held out a hand. "Come inside, Rosie wants you."

Lily reached up and hoisted herself from the ground.

"You know, soon you won't be able to get off the ground like that."

She laughed, "I've still got a few more months left, I think." Lily brushed off her trousers, being sure not to track unwanted grass or dirt.

James tucked her under his arm and held her close, grateful she wasn't hurt. They started to walk back to the house. "I noticed the cake."

Lily shook her head. "She absolutely insisted."

"How long was she over this time?"

"A few hours, only." Lily put her arm around James's waist. "She loves to talk about you."

He looked down to her, "Me?"

"You and your family."

They reached the back door, James leaning across her to get the handle. "I can't blame you, though." He pulled the door open and looked up, "The stars are really bright tonight."

"I couldn't resist."

"I see. Just, next time, don't let me find you motionless on the ground in the middle of the night." He smiled to her. "Deal?"

"Deal." Lily stepped into the kitchen and was greeted by Rose nuzzling up against her leg. She asked, "Did you find Selwyn?"

James, not wanting to worry her, shortly said, "Yeah. We found him and took him to Moody."

"No problems? Was he alone?"

James pulled one of their chairs out from under the table and sat down. "Brandston was with him. It was an easy extraction."

Lily went to the refrigerator and pulled out an apple and a glass jar of milk. Tossing the fruit to James, she wondered, "Brandston? Did he play with you at school?"

He took a bite of the apple and nodded. "Slytherin beater."

Lily took out a wide and flat knife from a side drawer and put it to the chocolate encrusted cake. "Would you like a piece?"

He shook his head, cake was Lily's weakness. She could eat it all day, every day. "What else did old Batty want?"

Her slice of cake made the plate look undersized. She smiled, "She just wanted to check on things. She was very interested in the baby's room."

"Was she?" James took another large bite from the apple.

"She's so sweet." Sitting down her plate on the counter she went and grabbed a glass, before opening the jar of milk. "She had a lot of questions about my family."

James raised an eyebrow.

Lily poured her glass half full and took a sip. "She already knew about Mum and Dad." She looked to James. "She remembered you talking about me a while back. She asked if I was the girl whose parents had died while you were at school."

"I suppose I did mention it to her." Standing up, he discarded the apple core by throwing it, quaffle-style, into the rubbish bin. "She came and saw me a few times after the funeral. Just asking how I was doing and how school was going along."

"She said you were worried about me for a long while."

"I was." James walked to her, taking her fork and stealing a bite from the cake. "You weren't returning my owls and you didn't talk to anyone at school. I wanted to give you space; but, Bathilda told me, to just let you know that I would be there for you if you needed anything."

_The slight breeze gave a mist throughout the yards from the dense fog. James found her sitting along the quidditch pitch, looking out to the lake—well what could be seen of the lake. The dense fog blanketed the grounds, leaving only a few dozen meters to view out. She was wearing her muggle clothes, jeans and an old, faded t-shirt with sneakers. He decided to make himself known, _

"_Long time no see, Lils."_

_He must have surprised her; she jumped and turned in a flash. _

_He jogged the rest of the way to the stone wall she sat on. "I like your outfit."_

_She relaxed and took a breath. "Thank you." _

"_Your hair's pretty, too." The humidity in the air had flattened her thick locks as they fell down her back, a new look for her perfectly primed tresses. _

_Distractedly, she grabbed a portion of her hair and brought it in front of her shoulder to examine it. "It's ruined." _

_To his relief, she smiled. The damp hair seemed to humor her. _

_She let out a giggle, "All that work for nothing." _

"_Well," said James, hesitantly sitting alongside her, "These aren't the greatest conditions."_

_She sighed, "It's not that horrible. It brings a new charm to the countryside, don't you think?" _

_He smirked, "I can see that. Usually, we have to play in this drizzle. Doesn't make the quaffle easier to catch though." _

_She crossed her arms for warmth as a breeze cut between them. The entire week had the gloomy weather; no sun, no rain; just the stillness of fog, as if they would be trapped in it forever. James had thought of no one but her since she left four days ago. McGonagall came to their Head dormitory at two in the morning, waking Lily up. Outside his door he heard her cries and then, the next he knew, she was packing her trunk and leaving school. She didn't say a word to him, he couldn't blame her. He didn't speak to anyone for days after his parents' sequential deaths. _

"_Lily, I—" he stammered and then caught himself, "I'm sorry about your mum and dad." _

_To his dismay he saw her face twitch and scrunch up—in a way he had never seen—in grief. The corners of her mouth shook and her lips pursed together. In an unusual way, she still looked striking: Her green eyes were lined with pink, making the color stand out even more than ordinary. _

_She squeezed her eyes shut and felt her eyes lids close together over tiny pools of water. Knowing James was watching, made it even harder to stop the tears from coming. "I guess you know how this feels, then." _

_James shook his head immediately. "Lily, I just wanted to tell you that—well, I can be a good listener." Thinking of his previous bout with Remus, he had to mention, "You should talk to someone, though." _

_He saw her torso lift up with a long breath and then shudder. They had just begun to get closer. They had taken their rounds together, started studying in the afternoons, even sat up at nights talking. He couldn't let her fall away in heartache. _

"_If there's one thing I learned, it's that you can't hold it in forever." James was thinking hard, trying not to just spit out whatever came to his head, and he slowly stood. "You will drive yourself mad, trying to be tough and courageous. It will eventually just—explode out of you." _

_He didn't dare take a look to see if she was crying. "I know you're a strong girl, Lils; but, if you truly loved your mum and dad, you have to grieve. Trust me." He remembered why he came out to talk to her; he needed to tell her, "I want you to take care of yourself." He put a hand on the stone wall next to her. "Please remember, no matter how depressed or alone you feel; you're never on your own." _

_She exhaled a shaky breath and exclaimed, "I never thought it would happen this soon." _

_James quietly sat down along the thigh-high wall and admired her bravery. It had taken himself six long months to break down and acknowledge that he would never see his parents again. _

_Wiping her eyes, she admitted, "Growing up, you have all these expectations. To know—to know that they will never happen—that's what hurts the most. It's a deep ache in my stomach that never stops." _

_He could sympathize with her on that course. He too had always envisioned his parents at his wedding, sharing the next year's holidays, and spoiling his future children. All of his dreams were gone once they passed. _

"_I hate to sound selfish, James. Please don't think of me that way, I just—"_

"_I don't."_

"_To think that they'll never welcome me home . . . I will never see them smile again." She hiccupped once and looked into the fog. _

_James recognized her focused stare. She was looking through the fog at something that he would never be able to see. "They loved you," whispered James. Making out a nod from her he continued, softly, "They wouldn't want you to be miserable for them." _

_Her voice was so minute that James could barely hear it. "I miss them." _

_Snaking an arm around her shoulders, looking through the mist, he replied, "You will." _

"James," she said, adjusting her shirt where it was taught over her stomach, "Petunia's pregnant, too."

"What?"

"I sent her our new address a few months back—just in case she needed to get word to me, or—well I just wanted her to have it—"

"I understand."

"She sent me a letter saying that she's pregnant, too. Due soon, as well."

"What else did she say?" James relaxed, unlacing his shoes.

"Nothing else, really." She bowed her head. "It was rather short. I don't think I'll hear from her anytime soon."

He shot his head up, kicking off his trainers. "That reminds me," he looked over to Lily as she sat her dish into the sink, "Mad Eye told me to tell you that he misses you."

"I'm sure. He must want me to get this whole pregnancy over with and get back out into the field."

"He does miss your potions and unique, Death-Eater-insider, defensive spells." Smiling, he stood up, saying, "Also, I like the new accessory upstairs."

"You saw them all?"

"All?" He narrowed his eyes. "I just saw the stuffed snitch. What else is there?"

"Well, just a few other quidditch-inspired things."

James shook his head and walked over to her. "You're spoiling the child already. Suppose the baby doesn't like quidditch. What then?"

"I figured it might come to him or her as an instinct. Just like it did for you, dear." She put her arms around his neck.

He smiled, "I have to admit, I would not mind going to my kid's quidditch games. Maybe even coaching them. . . "

"Oh, you think so?" Lily asked. "Nothing too aggressive though."

"Of course, love." Then he remembered, "And Sirius is coming for dinner tomorrow."

"Oh!" Lily squealed, "It's his birthday, isn't it?"


	23. TwentyThree: Sliding

Kingsley Shaklebolt stood next to Sirius outside of Edgar Bones's home.

"How many are we expecting?" asked Sirius as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Kingsley looked to the sky, "Last time, there were four."

Sirius tilted his head, thinking. "What prompted this, then?"

"He came to recruit the entire family just as he did with the Masons last year. He's getting more and more daring in these recruitments."

A sharp wind rounded the outside of the tall brink house. Black strands wrapped, delicately around Sirius's cheek. Brushing the flailing hair behind his ear, he sucked in a breath of cold air. "What are we expecting, now?"

OOOOOOoooooooo

"Look at how weird it is." She said, poking at the front of her shirt in the large mirror.

James looked up from his desk, over to her reflection. "I look at you all the time, Lils."

"Yes, but look. My stomach is huge!"

"You're just as beautiful as the day I met you."

She laughed, "The day that I embarrassed you on the train?"

While putting down his quill, he said sarcastically, "It was then; I knew you were the one for me."

"Of course, the first day of school when you saw I was fraternizing with a Slytherin." She stepped away from the mirror and sat on the edge of their bed. "I still can't believe that Caradoc and Fabian broke our window." She lifted the hem of her over-sized blouse to expose the skin of her stomach. The pale flesh seemed to go on forever in her mind, rounding out and over her feet to the floor.

"Well, a broken window was the least of our worries." He chuckled to himself. "Giving Remus exploding bludgers for his birthday wasn't the best idea the boys have ever had."

"I think Gideon had more fun with them. The clean-up was outrageous- like a bomb had gone off!" She laughed, "And Sirius, completely pissed, trying to pick up the pieces by hand."

James put his hands in the air, "He was trying to help!"

After the hearty laugh, she noticed her stomach bouncing slightly. Changing the subject, she added, "Peter looks better."

"He does, doesn't he?" James got up from his desk and moved to their window, casually looking out. "Remus said he finally started up his auror training—although, he might not be doing so well."

"He probably needs a distraction."

James stood up, smoothing the front of his grey, button-down shirt. He always did hate wearing clothes easily susceptible to wrinkles; at school he often wore his sweater, avoiding the many messy lines in the crisp school shirt.

"May I go downstairs now?" Lily had been patient all night. James refused her access to the kitchen; which meant one of his delicious surprises. When it came to desserts, James had a keen understanding and creative sense of new concoctions.

"I suppose." He grinned back, gesturing to the bedroom door with an outstretched hand. Teasing, "I wish I had an excuse to eat like a hippogriff."

Lily took her time walking towards the stairs. She saw a faint glowing light from the hallway below and a distinct, sweet smell came to her nose. Before the landing, James took the lead and descended down the staircase, waiting for her at the bottom.

"I've wanted to do this for a bit." James blushed and held her hand in his nerve stricken fingers that shook slightly in anticipation. He led her to the kitchen, the lighting dimmed far down from a single, very small lantern that sat on the counter top.

"James?" asked Lily, noticing the light. "Is that from Hogwarts?"

He nodded, "Dumbledore lent it to me. Never said anything about bringing it back, though."

The lantern sat next to James's father's wadded up old cloak. She smiled and turned to see what James suddenly held behind his back.

Bringing his hand forward, he watched her reaction cautiously. She was slightly confused by his gift for dessert. James held a large pear in his palm. "Don't you remember?"

She looked up to his hazel eyes, which seemed to glow under the lighting, warm, deep, and golden brown.

_His hazel eyes, seemed almost alluring, warm and approachable, a detail she had purposefully overlooked for years. _

"_James," she whispered, "How often do you come here?"_

_The seventeen-year-old looked up to the stone ceiling, "Maybe once every month or so."_

"_You're joking!" She gasped. "Passed the house elves? Passed the ghosts? You get away with it?"_

_He put a finger to his lips to silence her and nodded, "The cloak helps." _

_Avoiding his eyes and, recently added, his lips, she asked quietly, "Well, what have you got, there?"_

_James brought his father's cloak from behind his back and unwrapped two pears, light green and very plump. "They're in season and the school has loads of them." His old cloak did come in handy on numerous occasions. Helping her accept the fact that he had an invisibility cloak was a whole other ten minutes of persuasion. Getting the girl of his dreams to go on an after-hours adventure was a wondrous opportunity. _

_She smiled gratefully at the delicate fruit. Lily had been up all that afternoon and night studying for their first of the year exams and hadn't eaten since their early supper._

_James handed one of the pears to her and sat their lantern on the castle floor near one of the benches that lined the dark corridor. He then sat causally, knowing no one has a need for that hallway until sunrise. The night had gone well so far, having Lily sneaking in and out of the kitchens was a sight he wouldn't forget anytime soon; however, being discovered by a wondering ghost or professor would leave James dateless for the rest of the year. Just one too many detentions in one year would not result favorably- especially in Minerva's opinion._

_Lily took her fruit and sat directly beside James, to his surprise. Their knees touched ever so slightly, which made his back straighten in delight. Catching his childish lurch, James retracted and slouched dramatically on the bench's back board, stretching his feet out far ahead of them. _

"_You're such a git." _

_Glancing over, James saw a smirk on her face. "What for?"_

_She smiled full and shook her head. Slouching in her seat, Lily stretched her feet out and leaned backward until the back of her head touched the stone wall behind them. Her back arched low and arms slumped to her sides. Grinning at the hilarity of her pose, she narrowed her eyes in James's direction. _

_He had to admit, her tucked down chin, tuffed up school sweater, and un-lady-like posture gave him more pleasure than he thought ought to. _

"_This is not even comfortable!" She giggled from her spot and sat back upright. _

_To James's dismay, her sliding up the bench also pulled her skirt back down her thighs. Taking a bite of the pear, he murmured, "Don't let Sirius find out we came down here. Pears are his favorite."_

"_Why _did_ you invite me down here?" She asked, still leaving the pear still uneaten in her lap. _

_James, stunned at her question, shook his head. "Er," he caught himself, "You won't go to Hogsmede with me. This is a small stepping stone to getting you on a date." Quite frankly, James was desperate over the past many months to get her alone without the distractions from her school books or energetic friends. _

"_What do you consider a date, then?"_

"_You know, going to eat together, talking about interests—I guess." Their knees touched again; only, this time he made no effort to pull away. It felt too comfortable. _

_Looking down, she said, "I can't imagine the stir we would cause."_

_He swallowed, "It is nice to be invisible sometimes." _

_She nodded and looked up to his eyes again. Melting colors of green, brown, and gold seemed to swirl together behind his lenses. The meshing of hues only made her want to look longer, to study them instead of Extinct Magical Creatures. _

_James abandoned his half-eaten fruit at the foot of the bench. "Why _did_ you come with me?"_

_Lily rolled the pear in between her palms, nervously, "You said that I study too much. I was truly bored to tears." Just on pure habit, she glanced subtly to her left and right. Hushed, she admitted, "You're not so bad to be honest."_

_James blushed under her intense gaze and sat up slowly, feeling his leg slid up hers. He smirked before asking, "Should I consider this our first date, then?" _

Lily smiled broadly, "Really went all out for this one, didn't you Mister Potter?"

James held out the fruit for her to take. "It wasn't very extravagant, was it?"

She teased, "At least we didn't get caught!"

"Caught?" James waved the pear through the air. "James Potter never gets caught. I was laying on the charm for you and I took extra precautions."

"You bribed Peeves with Slytherin gossip."

"That was anything but gossip. It was an eventual truth."

Without warning she wrapped her arms tightly around his middle, her face buried in his chest. "I love you."

Hugging her back, chastely kissing her hair, "I love you, too."

OOOOOOOoooooooo

"I'm not due until August," Lily said with tranquil poise and a light smile.

"Yes, Lily," acknowledged Dumbledore, "I will be informing all expectant couples; I wanted to express my concern for the two of you in particular."

"Sir, is this for certain?" asked James. "My parents always spoke of prophecies as probabilities; that they're never heard correctly or in full, usually just parts that don't even coincide usually."

Dumbledore's stern voice outlined the truth. "I heard this prophecy myself. I had intended to do my own research; regrettably, the Death Eaters promptly relayed it to Voldemort."

"What does this mean? That—" James's posture straightened. "The entire thing is absurd! A baby able to vanquish Voldemort?"

"The prophecy was thorough, James." Dumbledore's solemn face worried the two, the slight glint of happiness and cheer was completely gone. No glimmer of hopefulness or room for attempt.

"We could have a girl," interjected Lily, her hands in her lap clutched together, "it's intended for a boy, right?"

Dumbledore nodded once. "A boy born at the end of July."

"I'm not due until August, Professor."

"Lily," Albus urged, "This prophet was concise and detailed; the prophecy was extracted whole and complete. The first half of the prophecy is why I am concerned for you three in particular."

"First half?" Lily, sitting in the plush arm chair looked horribly uncomfortable with her back straining to be perpendicular as she sat on the edge of the chair. James looked to his old professor, noticing the more evident wrinkles around his crescent moon glasses.

Slowly, Dumbledore breathed in. The words almost had to be pulled out of his mouth; they seemed to almost drag out. "It began, 'Born to those who have thrice defied him.'"

James felt his chest empty out. The uneasy feeling of being numb spread from his head to his feet. The old man used a tone that he hadn't dealt with in years.

"_I'm very sorry, James." The old man's voice was ended with a brick of silence. _

_Sirius's short, shaky breaths came from behind. James couldn't focus on the professor; the entire office became a dark hole as he stared at one of Dumbledore's trinkets. After being summoned to the Headmaster's office during potions, James was surprised to see Albus Dumbledore with Sirius waiting for him. Once hearing the news, he felt the blood rush from his head and the pit of his stomach went cold. The indefinite finality of death overwhelmed his senses. James's eyes were fixed in disbelief, staring ahead of himself, straight through Dumbledore. First his mother, then his father. He was alone. _

"_James, if you would prefer to have a few weeks of leave, I could contact your other professors."_

The feeling of dread flooded him. Thrice defied.

"What do we do?" Lily whispered, "How will we know?"

"He will wait until he is able mark the boy—"

"What does that mean?" James abruptly stood up unable to sit still any longer.

Raising a hand to his temple, Dumbledore sighed, "I'm not sure. It could be a number of possibilities."

"Will the others be safe?" Lily breathed. "Frank and Alice, they're stationed in London now?"

"We have taken all necessary precautions with the others."

"There's nothing we can do?" The question was desperate, James knew, but had to be answered.

Dumbledore didn't respond. Lily, in the close corner of the room, sat numbly staring at the castle floor.

James continued, his thick skin of confidence and serenity melting away, not even twinging at the pleading tone in his speech. "Professor, please, what should I do?"

Sirius stalked down the long corridor between the quidditch pitch and locker rooms. During the off season, having a young student stumble upon him during a transformation would be highly unlikely. Jumping into a jog, he headed towards the Headmaster's office per a hasty owl from Dumbledore. Coming from an awkward run-in with Marlene McKinnon with some other bloke at the Hog's Head put him into a mood. Rushing to Dumbledore's aid, which was sure to be another three day hunt for one Death Eater, might not have been a horrible alternative.

Rounding the corner he saw James and Lily. They were doubled-over on the ground, leaning against a stone wall, clutching each other. He froze. Lily's head was buried in James's chest with both her fists grabbing handfuls of his shirt. James's face was bent down into her auburn tresses with both arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

He took a hesitant step towards them.

James's head popped up. Sirius saw his eyes were bloodshot and wet. James looked to Sirius, to the floor, and then wearily bowed down to touch Lily's hair again.

Sirius approached them quietly, barely hearing Lily's soft whimpers into James's shirt. Not quite knowing what to say, Sirius gingerly let his knees bend out from under him and slid to the floor touching shoulders with James.

The closer he looked, the more he realized how dreadful their news must be. Lily's sobs were deep and short, her breathing couldn't keep up with her. James had always held a tight grip on Lily, but this embrace was more about sanctuary than a school boy crush. Upset didn't cover it, they looked completely shattered.

Sirius croaked out, "Prongs?"

James took in a deep breath and turned his head to the side, slightly trembling, whether from Lily's quiet sobs or his own trepidations, Sirius wasn't sure. James's voice was small and weak, "Stay close for a bit, would you?"


End file.
